


Stars can't shine without Darkness

by kimsey



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon Related, Death, Drama, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Family, Feelings, Feels, Female Characters, Female Relationships, Fights, Fluff, Food, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, Kissing, Language, Loss, Love, M/M, Multi, Music, Original Character(s), Relationship(s), Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Suspense, Wordcount: Over 1.000
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-27
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5487596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimsey/pseuds/kimsey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexandria Douglais came to Fairy Tail with hopes of a fresh start - a clean slate - a new beginning, and that's exactly what she got. It was almost as if everything had finally fallen into place, after all the years of turmoil she'd finally found what she'd been searching for. She was quick to join, and the mages there were quick to accept her. And for a few short moments everything seemed almost perfect.</p><p>At least until that Dreyar boy showed up out of the blue and the shit really hit the fan.</p><p>Life was kind of a pain in the ass already, and he didn't seem to have any plans to make it easier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"If something is important enough, even if the odds are against you – you should still do it.”

~~~

The young woman shrank back from the throng of people cheering for the guild, Innumerable floats continued to traipse down the cobblestoned streets of Magnolia, throwing fleeting shadows and splatters of colors across her chest. It was, as she had expected, quite the show, every mage from the guild using their magic or wearing a flashy and revealing costume as part of a display in the Fantasia parade; something that this particular girl had never had the pleasure of seeing before.

It was beautiful, breathtaking in a way that only magic could be. Even the stars smiled down upon the spectacle, their ineffable beauty unrivaled, yet still challenged as the parade wandered by. The shouts of young children and the gasps of the transfixed crowd filled her ears. It was a pleasant event, endearing and charming and magnificent all the same.

The young woman took a few cautious steps forward, her cloak swinging around her as she made her way to the edges of the crowd. Peering out from beneath the hood that served as her protection from the rest of the world, the young woman could barely make out the words 'FAIRY TAIL' written in flame across the deep azure sky. It was stunning – utterly glorious to a girl who had always contained a certain infatuation with the stars.

And so, in that moment, while she lingered in the back of the crowd, as the confetti rained down around her, the young woman finally did something she hadn't done in a while. Just as the guild master was climbing onto his float, she allowed a ghost of a smile to creep onto her face, her voice spilling out into the night and mingling with the faint buzz of conversation that lingered around her as she spoke.

“So this is what Fairies are like?"

~~~

"I need a room."

The shabby old woman behind the counter didn't even look up at me – she didn’t even bat an eye. It was like I had become so good at blending in that I had finally just simply disappeared. My presence didn’t appear noticeable to her, and my voice certainly hadn’t pulled her from her thoughts. She had to be deaf, or either exceptionally rude. I was willing to bet on the latter.

I set my mouth into a hard line and leaned forward over the filthy counter, clearing my throat and making it impossible for her to continue ignoring me. With a hefty sigh she finally looked up from the bowl of ramen that she had been occupied with and faced me, a look a wry irritation plastered across her wrinkled face.

"Can you pay?" She inquired, her voice containing an unprecedented youthful, almost fruity tone. “We don't accept boarders if they can't pay."

I nodded. "Of course, I have 6,000 jewel here. That should be enough for…”

"Two nights." She finished. "You stay two nights and then you leave."

"But- I-" I stammered, but the woman only shook her head.

"No buts; my inn, my rules, and if I say you leave after two nights if you can't give me any more jewel, then you leave, understand?" She declared, standing up from her chair and rising to her full, albeit short height.

I blinked like a rabbit, momentarily stunned by the innkeeper's behavior towards me. But I composed myself, sucking in a breath and clenching my fists as I stared at her. "Fine. I understand." I echoed, my mouth hardening into a straight line. "I'll just find another inn, maybe that one will want to take my money, no matter how little it may be." I turned on my heel, my boots scraping against the wood floor of the inn as I took quick and meaningful strides toward the exit. Throwing my hand over my shoulder in a wave, I called out to the woman one last time, my already harsh demeanor slipping into a much more bitter one. "Thanks for wasting my time. I hope you have a nice day."

And with that I was out the door, my cloak swaying behind me as I marched away from the building.

~~~

"So this is what I've been reduced too?" I murmured, casting a withdrawn gaze around the rathole of a room I had wasted all but 2000 of my jewel on. "Kitanai's Inn."

I’d spent the rest of the night scowering all of Magnolia in an attempt to find an inn. Finally I had stumbled across a run-down building on the edge of the city, one that, shockingly enough, hadn't been fully booked in the midst of all of the Harvest Festival celebrations.

I was shocked that the innkeepers didn’t have to bribe guests in an attempt to get someone to stay here. Everything about it was filthy, from the partially missing floors, to the walls missing most of the wallpaper, to the water damaged roof, and to the chunks of plaster vacant from various places along the hallway, leaving me to doubt the building’s overall stability. There was even a mysterious brownish haze that filled the air. I assumed the beige hue was from too many cigarettes being smoked at once in this place. That seemed to be a favorite hobby of the man that worked the front desk, a cigarette in one hand and a pencil in the other. Part of me thought it a miracle that this inn hadn't been burned to the ground thus far, yet part of me still wished that it had been reduced to nothing more than ashes. I almost wanted to keep my jewel and sleep on the streets for the few days I needed, but I wasn't that foolish. I couldn't risk being noticed, although the chances of that were quite slim, and I'd rather not be harassed by any late night stragglers. Besides, it wasn't like I was used to living in any luxurious situations. I could handle staying in a rundown inn just like I had handled staying in every other ratty place for my past three months on the road.

My room wasn’t any better than the rest of the building, and after an indifferent survey of the decrepit quarters I moved across the small room towards the single piece of furniture that decorated the barren space. I sank down onto the moth-eaten mattress, taking note of how the worthless thing sagged under my weight, practically touching the molded ground. Setting my bag on the end of the bed, I carefully pulled off my boots, and lay back against the lumpy bed. Without even bothering to remove my cloak I curled up against the mattress, closing my eyes and letting my mind succumb to sleep.

~~~

I reluctantly peeled my eyes open, and was taken aback for a moment by the shocking differences in my room. Now that I could see its entirety in the afternoon light, it was clear that I had gotten the short end of the straw when it came to places to stay. If I had any doubts about this inn being trash before, they were thrown away as I saw the vermin traps in the corner of the room. A few anxious beads of sweat fell down my face at the sight, but I cast the thought aside, quickly focusing on something else. I stood up from my mattress, glancing to the side of the room where a bathroom was. It had been three days already since I had bathed, and I was feeling more than nasty. So I removed my cloak, and peeled off my clothing. Throwing them into a pile in the floor, I darted into the bathroom to avoid the open windows which served as the only form of air conditioning.

I showered quickly, furiously using the freezing water that they provided. My skin screamed, partially out of thanks for being clean, and partially out of rage that the water was so frigid. After I stepped out I used the tattered rags I found under the sink to dry myself, although my raging temper was enough to burn someone at that point. Leaving the bathroom, I reused a cheap cleaning charm on my clothing and then pulled it back on. I may have been irritated, but at least I was clean, the former was just something you couldn't help. I grunted and snatched a hairbrush from my bag, and set to work brushing through my tangled tresses of damp hair. It was mostly dry now; the worn charm I had used on my clothes had decided to screw up and try to dry my hair again. I guess that’s what I got for trying to be ‘frugal’ and purchasing used charms.

I was halfway through the tangles too, a portion of straight hair falling down my back when I was interrupted from my solitude. The sound of someone attempting to force my door open interrupted my thoughts, and I yanked the hood over my head, covering my face just as someone suddenly burst into my room.

I stared at the exceptionally tall man and he stared back at me, his eyes widening in shock as he took me in.

"Oh, I-I must have the wrong room." He stated, more to himself than to I, and backed out into the hallway. I lowered my defensive stance I had taken, and my terrified face was replaced by one of confusion. I frowned, and I, knowing that I had nothing better to do, made the split second decision to follow after the peculiar man. I convinced myself that it was simply because I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. After all, you didn’t just barge in on someone like that – especially without an apology. However even I didn’t know if my actions were fueled by anger, outrage, or perhaps even curiosity as I made my way out of the door.

I peered out in the hallway, my eyes darting around the dirty space and quickly landing on the man, who stood a few doors down, trying to force a key into a second door.

“What the hell are you trying to do?” I blurted, my tone almost accusative as I fixed him with a cold stare. He turned his head, mild surprise written across his features as he took me in – as if he was surprised that I had followed him. But what else was I supposed to do? He was the one that barged in on me; I could only return the favor.

His face hardened.

"What does it look like?" He countered. "I'm trying to find my room."

"Didn’t the man up front tell you your room number?" I inquired, suspicion claiming my tone. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again in a foolish attempt to respond.

"No, he just handed me a key and pointed me in this direction." He stated, pursing his lips. My frown deepened, the corners curling further down as I took in the offender.

"And so you just went around breaking into whatever room you came across and figured you'd eventually get lucky?" I inquired. The man huffed.

"Well that's not how I would put it..." He grumbled, giving me a withering look. I had to refrain from rolling my eyes at his childishness.

"Well you'd be better off trying the rooms in the center, before someone isn't kind enough to spare you when you barge in on them." I pointed out. "Probably 313 or 314. They fill up the outer edges first, and since almost all the rooms are full because of the Harvest Festival, you should have the best luck there." I continued, my actions encouraged by some unprecedented stroke of kindness. He blinked, his vague look of surprise probably similar to the one I wore on my face.

"Well... Thank you, I guess."

It sounded like more of a question than an answer.

"Yeah, don't mention it, Blondie." I remarked, turning away from him. I took one step down the hallway, then another, slowly walking until I finally arrived at the doorway to my room. I paused at the entrance, however, testing him. And, as I had predicted, his voice greeted my ears before I could go back in.

"So, what's with the strange getup?"

I turned to face him, my simple cloak swaying in its as I did so. I gave him a scowl, however from where he stood I sincerely doubted that he could see it.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, defensively crossing my arms as I looked at him from beneath under my hood. He scoffed.

"You know exactly what I mean." He answered, matching me and folding a pair of beefy arms underneath the ridiculous looking fur coat that was draped over his shoulders, I hesitated slightly, noticing for the second time the bandages that covered his body. "You're obviously not from around Magnolia; every woman here tends to wear as little clothing as possible."

"And what makes you think that I'm a woman?" I pressed, unable to realize just how ridiculous my question sounded. He gave me a sarcastic look.

"You realize I'm not deaf? I can tell the difference between the high voice of a woman and that of a man." He retorted, and I scoffed.

"You obviously aren't a mute either; the way you keep running your mouth. Ever heard of holding your tongue or minding your own business?" I said, the ghost of a smirk appearing on my face.

The man facing me didn’t seem to find it even remotely humorous. "Please, I'm only humoring you because you helped me." He retorted, a glacial look filling his features yet again.

"And I only helped you because of the pitiful state that you're in." I retorted, glancing over his heavily bandaged body and catching myself wondering whom or what could have injured him that badly. "But now that I think of it, maybe I shouldn't have continued speaking with the man who broke down the door to the room I was renting, especially if he's still walking with that many injuries."

The man looked down, darkness clouding his sharp features, and I realized that I must have hit a nerve. "I don't need your help." He growled, clenching his scarred fists, but keeping his focus on the ground. "So don't humor me. I'm only spending today here to finish recovering from my injuries. I leave at dawn tomorrow, and I really hope I won’t see a pain like you again."

"Oh don't be such a baby." I snapped, and he glanced up at me, clearly not appreciative of the comment. He finally sighed, glancing down at his hands in resignation before he looked back up to me, a serious look replacing every other emotion he had flipped through.

"I've just been through some tough shit recently, okay? So quit sticking your nose in places where it doesn't belong."

"Ironic seeing as how you were the one that barged in in the first place." I remarked, glancing casually down at my nails. He let out a hiss of frustration.

"Do you seriously want to challenge me right now?" He snapped. "Because if you keep making bitchy comments like that, I will not hesitate to-"

“To what?” I interjected, my features hardening from behind the hood I wore.

“Whatever.”

A pregnant pause passed between us as the tension sank in. After I moment I finally decided to ask one final question before I left.

"There's a wizard's guild in this town that's called Fairy Tail. Do you know anything about it?" I asked. He stared at me, his gray eyes widening into two plates almost as big as saucers.

"Fairy Tail?" He echoed. "Are you serious?"

"I helped you, the least you can do is help out a girl in need." I stated, and the man shot me a withering glare.

"Well believe it or not, smartass, I'm actually a former mage of Fairy Tail." He conceded, an emotionless mask on his face as he did so.

"Former mage?" I echoed, a bolt of pleasant surprise shooting through me as I looked at the man in an entirely new light. No longer was he the hulking pain in the ass that just couldn’t leave and let be. No. He was my best chance at getting into Fairy Tail – my one way ticket into the life I had been searching for ever since I left.

He let out a heavy sigh.

"I grew up in Fairy Tail, and, while sometimes I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have, Fairy Tail is an amazing guild. All of my family is in Fairy Tail.” He hesitated, releasing another burdened sight before he continued on. “I made some mistakes, and, in return for my childlike actions I got expelled from the guild.”

"Expelled?”

"I got what I deserved, okay? Maybe one day I'll redeem myself. Maybe I won't." He said, with a shrug. “Honestly I think it will be the latter.”

"Maybe you should do something about it then. I mean obviously, if you just sit around moping you’ll never return to the guild, and even if you do become a better person, hope will only get you so far. I mean, there are times when you can't keep relying on hope, optimism will only get you so far. And furthermore-" All of a sudden the man in front of me let out a maniacal burst of laughter. I took a cautious step backwards, my speech dropping midsentence.

"You're going to be in for a shock when you join Fairy Tail." He informed me, a lopsided grin dancing across his bandaged face. I frowned slightly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I inquired, but he just shook his head and laughed again.

"Fairy Tail is going to be good for you." He promised. "You'll love everyone there."

"Thanks I guess, whatever your name is."

"Laxus." He offered, sticking out his hand. I didn’t take it.

"Okay Laxus." I said simply, and he gave me an expectant look.

"Well, let me hear your name, I gave you mine." He demanded.

"What? No. No way." I blurted. "I can't just _tell_ you that."

"Please. It's not like I can do anything with just your name." He retorted. "There's probably thousands of other girls out there with the same name as you."

"Fine. My name is, er..." I paused slightly, scrambling for an answer. Should I go by my real name? Should I not? What if someone discovered me in Magnolia? What if he ratted me out?

"Well?" He prompted, and finally I clenched my fists, deciding to spit it out.

"Xandria." I announced, finally coming across a suitable answer. It wasn't quite my name, but it should have been enough to mask my identity for now and appease him.

"What a peculiar name." He mused, and I frowned.

"Not as odd as Laxus."

"Well, I can't help that I was blessed with such a magnificent title." He lamented, and I scoffed aloud.

"You were obviously blessed with a stunning amount of arrogance as well." I retorted, causing him to scowl at me.

And all of a sudden it dawned on me. I was wasting my time by talking with this strange man. And I was risking revealing myself. I had rarely ever conversed with strangers, much less considered the prospect of making friends with one. So why would I all of a sudden show some foolish weakness now that I was free. I couldn't simply keep giving details about myself away. I had already revealed part of my name, who knew what I was going to admit next.

"Well, it's been lovely getting to know a strapping guy like you, but I'm afraid I can't stay for much longer. See you around, Blondie. Or maybe not." I said, and turned my back on him, walking in the other direction down the hall. I awkwardly threw my hand over my shoulder in my attempt at goodbye.

~~~

The girl didn't see the boy for the rest of the day after that, or that night, not even the next morning. If you ever asked her about it, she'd never tell you how she'd waited something like thirty minutes in front of her door with nothing better to do but see if he'd knock again, to see if he'd barge in like he had before. But he never did.

If you ever asked the boy he'd never tell you about how he dressed his bandages quickly the night before and had approached the girl's room, prepared to ask her if she wanted to go with him to get something to eat. He had knocked, but after almost twenty minutes of waiting, there was no answer. So he packed his bags that night, and left the inn early, five minutes before the girl returned from town.

The fates had played their part, tugging on the strings of each individual, and causing their paths to coincide – but it was each their own fault for being so headstrong and leaving before the other even had a chance to arrive. Not like the girl would have gone to dinner with the boy anyway. More likely than not, the young woman would’ve simply laughed and slammed her broken door in his face. And it's not like the boy would have said goodbye to the girl before he left on his journey to redemption. That wasn't like him. He didn't care about people enough. Neither of them did.


	2. Chapter 2

“The time will pass away. You can either spend it creating the life you want, or spend it living the life you don’t want. The choice is yours.”

~~~

“Fairy Tail”

I stood at a standstill as I read the sign above me. I had been much taken aback when I scoped out the building yesterday, and even now I wasn't faring much better. It was beautiful, with a regal design and a decorative flourish. The guild stood two stories tall, complete with a bell tower and surrounding courtyard. The whole compound was quite flashy, something that I had not been expecting in the first place. Originally I’d envisioned a small, hut-like structure, maybe with a sparring area set off to the side. This wasn’t the slightest like that.

I moved forward, and with a haphazard tug I pulled the hood further down upon my head. Corrosive bolts of anxiety shot through me, and with each step I took, the sinking, acidic feeling seemed too intensive. I didn't want to look suspicious; I simply wanted to blend in, to fly under the radar. But how could one do that when everyone here was like family? I knew that the moment I walked into that building, the moment I walked past the front gates, I would stick out like a sore thumb. I supposed it couldn’t be helped though, so I marched forward – through the gate – through the courtyard – past the curious members of the guild until I finally arrived at the front steps of the stone building.

I threw open the doors, my cloak billowing around me as I did so, and with my chin held high I strode in. One step – I could hear the conversations quieting – two steps – the buzz of chatter had almost faded – three steps – heads were starting to turn – four steps – cautious glances were being thrown in my direction – five steps – I was almost halfway – six steps – the once raucous and merry guild hall had fallen silent; each member of Fairy Tail fixing their eyes on me as I made my way across the large room.

My boots made little sound as I located the dwarf of a man that had to be the famed Markarov. He sat atop a bar counter, staring me down with a distrustful look in his aging eyes. I didn’t blame him for the look of wariness. He was too wise too trust someone as conspicuous as me.

And after what seemed like miles of walking, I finally reached the elderly man. He stared deep into my hood, causing me to feel almost transparent – which was something I absolutely loathed. I hardened my gaze and took a final glance around the room before I spoke. Upon gazing, I noticed every person within the vicinity was staring – waiting for me to make my first move – waiting to see whether or not I was a threat. The entire room held their breath in anticipation.

"I'd like to join Fairy Tail." I announced, my voice resonating across the silent hall. Makarov’s eyes narrowed slightly before he responded.

"What is your name?" He asked, he steeled resolve not flinching. I swallowed.

"Xandria Douglais." I replied, the silky lie sliding across my tongue without a moment’s hesitation. It wasn’t like I would’ve been able to reveal my full name anyway, regardless of whether or not I wanted to. It was a simple matter of survival. If I told him my title and I’d be turned over to the authorities, simple as that. I had no choice but to lie to the man.

"Please remove your hood." He commanded, and with only a moment’s pause I lowered the fabric with painstakingly slow movements. My brown hair came spilling out, and for a moment he observed my face – the rest of the guild peering at what little they could see of my appearance.

A pregnant pause followed, and all the while Makarov observed me with an even gaze. His eyes raked over my features, upon and down me, to the side, even above my head to observe who really knew what. He even hopped off the counter he sat on at one point, doing a few circles around me as he took me in. All the while I stood patiently, waiting for his final verdict, waiting to see if he’d accept me into the guild or not.

And as if by magic, I finally got my answer.

"Well then, welcome to Fairy Tail, Xandria Douglais." He announced, his gravelly voice scraping against my ears. I raised an eyebrow in mild surprise

"Just like that then? No more questions or paperwork or-"

"Well...," he interjected, thoughtfully rubbing the stubble that covered his drooping jaw, "there is one form – the Magic Council usually butts in and wants me to have new recruits fill it out, but you can figure that out later. I wouldn't want to burden you with things like that on your first day."

"But aren't things like that meant for your first day?" I replied in confusion, earning a hearty chuckle from the elderly man.

"Nonsense! All you need right now is your guild mark." He reassured me with a sly grin. "So where do you want it? Maybe your chest? Hip? Thigh?"

My lips tightened into a thin line at his suggestions, an unabashed shock stealing across my features. “I just want it on my neck." I stated.

"Are you sure? You could always have a nice one right on your-"

"My neck!" I exclaimed, and he chortled.

"Alright, Reedus!" Makarov shouted, and with a slight wave of his hand, a giant man appeared. He dwarfed me in all aspects of height and weight – and I wasn’t a short woman. However, this man was practically wider than I was tall. Reedus held out a stamp in his hand, first dipping it in a dark ink, before he motioned for me to turn my head. I craned my neck, pulling my hair aside. He pushed the stamp down against my throat, and before I even had the sensation of wet ink – the tattoo was dry. Out of curiosity I pressed my hand against the skin, wondering what exactly my mark looked like.

"Would you mind letting me have the form now anyways?" I piped up, rubbing my hand against my throat. "If I have to fill it out I might as well get it over with, I wouldn't want to hinder myself from going on any jobs."

Makarov nodded. "Of course. Here, I think I have one in my..." He paused, sticking a miniature hand into his pocket and rooting around until he finally found what he was look for. After a moment he produced a small, crumpled up piece of paper, holding it out with a smile. I gave him a weak grin, finding myself slightly concerned for his sanity.

"Thanks..." I answered with a grimace, taking the questionably stained form from his hand. And with that I turned around, heading to find somewhere I could fill out the paperwork in this place. While I had been speaking with the master, I hadn't realized that when his attitude had changed, so had that of the rest of the guild, and a loud roar of noise had filled the guild hall. However, there were still a few Fairy Tail members that had wary eyes focused on me, still suspicious of my darker, more secretive attire. A young woman with long scarlet hair and armor was one of these few, along with a pink haired young man, and a dark headed man with piercings covering many parts of his body. I met red haired woman's gaze, staring eye to eye across the room for a few moments before I finally turned in irritation, stalking away to another corner of the room.

I slid down into an empty booth, spreading the form out in front of me and peering down at it, my eyes raking across the parchment. I ran my finger over it, the wrinkles and stains in the paper vaguely reminding me of the guild master's own face.

"You're going to need something to write with you know." A bubbly voice interrupted my thoughts, and I jumped at the sound. A small giggle followed, and I frowned, looking up to notice pixie of a girl staring down at me. I blinked, taking in her shock of cerulean hair and almost too broad smile. "My name is Levy, and it's just your luck that I happen to have a pen on me today." She slid into the booth across from me, the same sprightly smile plastered onto her face as she held out the writing utensil.

"Thanks…" I replied, noticing in irritation how my voice sounded high pitched at the end, as if I was asking her a question and not giving her an answer. I took the pen, and she laughed lightly, the sound tinkling like bells against my ears.

"What's your name?" She inquired, her doll-like hazel eyes looking at me in anticipation.

"Xandria." I muttered.

"What a pretty name." She remarked, and I had to pause a moment to see if she was joking. She wasn't. She was just ridiculously nice. I gave her a slight, awkward smile, hoping that she didn't expect me to return the compliment to her, and returned my gaze to the paper, reading the first question.

** NAME: **

I quickly scribbled down an answer, writing Alexandria Douglais in the blank.

"So what brings you to Fairy Tail?"

"Hmm?" I looked up at her, pushing a few stray strands of hair behind my ear so that it didn’t fall in my face. Her ever upbeat attitude almost seemed to deflate when she saw that I hadn't been paying attention to her.

"I said what brings you to Fairy Tail." She repeated, her smile slightly faltering into a look of annoyance.

"Oh, well," I paused, trying to create a suitable answer. She looked at me in expectation. "I needed a place to start over, I had a few guilds in mind, but Fairy Tail was the one that really stood out to me. I was actually planning on joining Phantom Lord, but I heard that it was disbanded a month or so ago, and so I just ended up coming here."

Her eyebrows raised slightly in mild surprise. "That’s quite ironic.,” She remarked with an indulgent nod. “We had some trouble with Phantom Lord, but that's all over with now. In fact, two of its former members are actually mages here now.” She paused, a broad smile and a faint blush stealing across her face as she pointed across the room. “That one over there with the dark hair and piercings, his name's Gajeel. I’m sure you’ve heard of him – what with him being the Iron Dragon and all." She positively beamed.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell." I refuted, earning a strange look from her.

"Really? Where were you before this? Locked up in some tower?" She added with a laugh. I hesitated.

"I didn't go out much." I stated with a frown, looking back down at my paper.

"I was only joking." She said, offering me a reassuring smile. A pregnant pause passed between us, and I let the silence sink in, glancing back down towards my paper.

** AGE: **

I jotted down 20 in the blank next to it, taking a moment to remember my birthday that had occurred less than a month prior in the middle of September. My eyes moved to the next question.

** HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A GUILD BEFORE? **

I flinched, and tried to come up with an answer. My eyes darted to the next question.

** IF SO WHICH GUILD? **

Tension still high in my body, I answered an unflinching **NO** to the first, lying and forfeiting the entirety of my childhood. I skipped the second question, and noticed that I was being watched by none other than the observant Levy.

"What?" I demanded, throwing up a hardened mask as if by instinct. My eyes flashed, practically daring her to say something about my roundabout way of answering the question. She shrank back.

"Nothing." She squeaked, and with a thick pause I released a heavy sigh. I placed the pen on the table and started to massage my temples. I never meant to sound like a jerk, but for some reason I always came off as cold.

"Listen, I didn't mean to sound so rude." I began, looking back at her with as much sincerity as I could muster. I hated apologizes, but I felt as if I owed her one. She was too kind for me to be angry at, and besides – I hadn't had a real friend in a long time. Now that someone was finally opening up to me, I felt like I should at least try to play nice.

"You couldn't help it – you're obviously not used to people or guilds like this." She reassured with a genuine smile. I blinked at how quickly she had brushed it off, expecting someone as upbeat as her to be more delicate when it came to emotions.

"What makes you think that?" I questioned, crossing my arms and raising a challenging brow. She gave me a wry smile.

"Because I can just tell. She stated. “I'm good at reading people, you know." She leaned forward on her elbows and placing her head in her hands as she peered at me through bright eyes.

I smirked.

"Oh really? Well then, Levy, why don’t you tell me what you’ve read from me?"

"For starters you seem lack a fundamental understanding of manners,” She remarked. “You’re gruff too, but maybe it’s just because you don’t trust any of us. And you aren't great at dealing with emotions, are you? Kind of like Erza, actually… And from what I’ve seen of you, it’s almost like you’ve got something to hide – which is really odd because I envision you as being bluntly (and quite rudely) honest."

My smirk had slowly faded into a frown as she spoke, and now I sat staring blankly at the young woman. I plastered a falsetto smile across my face, although I was certain that it looked more like a grimace than anything else. "You're pretty observant, aren’t you, Levy." I said quietly, drumming my fingers on the table as I mulled over what she had said. I eventually decided it best that I change the subject. "Who's Erza, by the way?"

"The strongest female mage in our guild!" Levy exclaimed, obviously speaking about a woman that she looked up too. "Erza's over there," She pointed across the room, and I narrowed my eyes. "You'll see her; she's the one with the long red hair and the armor. She's really quite beautiful."

"Yeah, she is." I muttered, my eyes raking over the young woman Levy had pointed out for me. I didn't appreciate her staring me down like she had earlier, but I could let that go. After all, if she was the strongest female mage, I would want to see her use her magic sometime soon.

“Honestly I wish that I could look like that…” Levy trailed off with a dream-like sigh; however I ignored her, my gaze still fixed upon the attractive young knight.

"What _is_ her magic anyways?" I inquired, taking in her coat of armor.

"You've never heard of her?" Levy inquired, surprise written across her soft features. I turned my head to cast her a withering look.

"I lived under a rock, remember." I drawled, earning another light laugh from her.

"Oh right." She recalled. "Well, Erza is a master of reequip magic and sword magic, she has over 100 different forms of armor, and over 200 different types of weapons."

My eyebrows shot to my hairline. "Well… That's quite the impressive array,” I breathed.

"You should see her in battle." Levy gushed, continuing her spiel. "She can switch her armor and weapons in the blink of an eye. Erza's also one of the most physically strong people I've ever met. She could probably wipe out an army with one punch. And then there's Natsu, our Fire Dragon Slayer, and Gajeel-"

"Did you say Dragon slayer?" I cut in, my voice taking on a childlike curiousity. "You have those here?"

"Well yeah, of course." She replied with a light laugh. "Natsu and Gajeel are both Dragon Slayers, and we’ve had more. Aside from them there are some other really strong mages here that could almost rival even their power."

"Well what about you?" I asked, suddenly curious about this small girl. Could she secretly be powerful? Could she be a dragon slayer like the other two men she was speaking of? "What kind of magic do you use?"

"Oh me? No, I'm not anything special." She refuted, shaking her head, but still retaining her cheer. I frowned.

"Sure you are. Just tell me what magic you use." I continued, and she sighed.

"Fine,” She gave in. “I use solid script. It's a form of letter magic that lets me generate words that actually take the shape of what they are. So if I were to cast the word fire, it would actually take the form of fire and each letter would burn in flames."

"That's actually really interesting – gives a whole new meaning to ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’, don’t you think?” I mused, recalling an aging mage I had come across ages ago. He’d used some form of letter magic, I believed. However I’m certain that-

Levy suddenly jumped up from her seat, a noise something like a squeal – or maybe a tortured squeak – bursting from her.

“That's exactly how I like to think of it!" She exclaimed, leaping forward and grabbing my hands. "Finally someone who understands!"

I blinked in surprise as she tried pulling me upwards, a blank stare gracing my features.

"What are you doing Levy?" I asked after a moment, and she frowned.

"What does it look like? I'm trying to get you to move your fat butt from this booth!" She blurted, her light voice rising in a joking tone. I rolled my eyes and stood up, grabbing the paper and pen and shoving them in my pocket.

"Why?" I continued, crossing my arms as I stared at her in expectation.

" _Because_ Xandria." She huffed. "It’s lunchtime and I'm taking you somewhere to go eat."

"I- no... Levy you don't have to." I stuttered, but she shook her head with a gentle smile.

"But I want to, and it's not like you have any friends to eat with anyway." She pressed and moved so that she could get a proper grip on my arm. "Now let's go."

"You're a persistent one, aren't you?" I muttered, allowing her to pull me from my seat and towards the exit, noticing as a few people had their eyes glued to me again. And with that we left, my cloak billowing out behind me as she pulled me behind her and along the crowded streets of Magnolia.

 

~Levy's POV~

 

We both sat at a small little table in one of my all-time _favorite_ cafes in all of Magnolia, 'Yoshiko Ume'. The waiter had already taken our order, and soon our food would be here. The whole time we had been keeping up a rather pleasant banter, the girl was much more talkative now that the idea of food was near. But something still seemed slightly off about her, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

As I had earlier suspected, Xandria did have a few qualities that reminded me of Erza, but there was also a much larger part of her that made me see pieces of a younger, wilder Mirajane in her – which I admit slightly scared me. In truth I probably needed to stop comparing her to the people at the guild, as she wasn't _really_ like any of them, and my imagination was simply getting the better of me, as it typically did. But it was hard for someone like me not to formulate all kinds of stories and backgrounds for everyone.

So far we had talked about mindless things, such as the weather, or a few strange habits of people in the guild. I had filled her in on some of the latest fashions, promising that she would have to meet Lucy, the utter goddess of fashion sometime soon.  Xandria had shrugged in disinterest, and I had thrown a disdainful at her coat. I’d made sure to avoid any big topics though, such as the fighting festival that the Raijinshu Tribe had recently held during the Harvest Festival, or any other recent conflicts. I wouldn't want to scare her away as soon as she came.

"So, what do you know about a man named Laxus?" She inquired in an almost anxious tone, as if she’d been wanting to ask, but was too wary to interrupt. I looked up, surprise fliting across my features as she said his name.

"How do you know about-" I began, but she cut me off, for the millionth time that day.

"I met him while I was traveling here." She explained, her tone slightly rushed as she spoke. "He seemed..." She paused. "Very confused, very gruff, and maybe slightly arrogant – but he said he had been expelled from Fairy Tail. And well… I was just wondering what exactly happened."

"He tried to turn all of Fairy Tail against one another, and then he set up a giant circle of lacrima around Magnolia that were going to destroy the town after we trumped his original plan. It was bad, but I think that he felt bad about it all. He didn't really end up hurting anyone aside from Natsu and Gajeel." I said, giving her my shortened, albeit harsh version of the events that had occurred in the past few days. She nodded.

"He said he got what he deserved, and it was obvious enough to me that he regretted what he had done." She continued, speaking about Laxus in a way that no one really had before. "But," She continued, always with the catch. "That doesn't excuse the way he acted. From what you said, I can only imagine how horrible it must have been for all of you."

"Still… I don't think he deserved to get expelled though. He's family, and even though he made a mistake we still ought to forgive him." I countered, but she shook her head.

"You have to draw the line somewhere." She pointed out. "Even with family. If he was aiming to kill it doesn't matter whether or not he failed."

"Well I guess I just tend to see the best in people." I muttered, slightly irritated that she was being so cold and intolerant towards Laxus when she barely even knew him. I heard an audible sigh come from her across the table, and saw her lean back in her seat.

"You're a much more optimistic person than I, Levy, and, from what I can tell you're a better person than I. Don't let me make you feel bad about that." She stated, looking at me with her pair of pale eyes. However, I was pleasantly surprised that she had said that, and gave her a smile.

"Oh please Xandria, there's no reason to say something like that. I'm sure that-"

I was cut off by our plates of food being set down on our table.

"For the two ladies." Our kind waiter said, and I flashed him my signature smile, Xandria was too focused on her food to pay him any mind.

We both dove in; chowing down until finally we slumped back in our seats, our stomach filled to the point of bursting. And suddenly she smiled at me, her mouth curling into a wry grin as she placed a thousand jewel down on the table, enough to pay for her meal. Her eyes flashed, daring me to protest at her abrupt departure.

"Let's do it again sometime." She stated, rising from her chair. Xandria turned, and with one last wave over her shoulder, the young woman walked away, calling out one final time. "See you around!"

I was left speechless, staring at the space she had once occupied in shock.


	3. Chapter 3

"All you need is someone who joins in on your weirdness"

~~~

Having turned in the form Makarov had given me, I stood in front of the request board trying to come up with a suitable job for me. However the mere task was proving practically impossible. I could barely focus, and for some odd reason I had an almost anxious feeling gnawing away at me – which didn’t help matters. What I needed to focus on was food and shelter – earning enough money to survive. I could deal with the panicky nonsense later. Working myself up over nothing was the worst thing I could do in my current situation.

“You decided on a job yet?”

I turned around, and the sight of a beautiful woman met me. She was tall and voluptuous, with ivory hair and a kind countenance. She fixed me with a smile quite similar to the one Levy had greeted me with earlier. She had to be Mirajane – she was the only woman in the guild with snow-white hair after all. Levy had described her as one of the most gentle-hearted here, and she certainly looked the part.

“Well…” I began, and Mirajane’s smile only broadened.

“I could help you decide if you wanted.” She offered, however I just shook my head.

“No, I’m fine.” I reassured her. “I’m probably just going to go with this one anyway,” I reached out and pulled a slip of paper from the board. “It looks easy enough, and the reward is nice,” I glanced over the request, having not even seen it earlier, “50,000 jewel. Apparently there’s some trouble in the East Forest regarding some bandits. I’ll go tomorrow and take them out, piece of cake.”

“Alone?” She inquired, surprise etched across her doll-like features. “Don’t you think you should at least take someone with you? It is your first request after all.”

“I’ll be fine.” I stated. “Besides, I’m sure everyone else here is busy with their own requests, they wouldn’t want to be bothered by a newcomer like me.”

Mirajane fixed me with yet another reassuring smile. “Oh no. No one’s busy right now; in fact, I think that Lucy and Natsu have been taking a break for the past few days.” She informed me, with an almost motherly shake of her head.  “How about I call him over right now?”

“There’s no reason to – Hey!”

“Natsuuu!” She shouted, waving and catching a young man’s attention from his spot at the bar. I was surprised however, when I realized that he was the very same young man that had eyed me in distrust earlier that day.

He stood up and began walking towards us, a lazy look present on his face as he greeted the woman. “Hey Mira, what’s up?”

“Xandria here wants to go on her first request to the east forest, but I’m trying to explain to her that she doesn’t need to go alone. I was wondering if you’d take her.” Mirajane explained, and I folded my arms, frowning at the interjecting woman.

“I told you, I don’t need him or anyone else to help me. I’ll do you just fine on my own.” I argued, causing this ‘Natsu’ to throw me a rather acidic look of annoyance. I met his gaze, and after a moment his annoyance vanished, replaced with an emotion that I was far too familiar with by now – distrust.

“You smell weird.” He pointed out, and I bristled at his sudden observation.

“How does that even relate to what we’re talking about?” I blurted, flustered by his comment. It was almost as if he could tell that I – No. Even the nose of a _dragon slayer_ wouldn’t be able to detect something like that… Could it?

“Well I’ve never smelt anything like it before.” Natsu continued. “It’s not your _regular_ smell, though. It’s just this weird undertone you have.” He paused and leaned forward, inhaling deeply. “It smells kinda old. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe like incense or something?” I scowled at him and flicked his nose. He jerked backwards, rubbing it with his hand. “Ow!”

“Will you stop going on about my scent?” I snapped. Natsu frowned.

“Do I have to go with her?” He whined, and Mirajane released a tinkling laugh before nodding.

“You know that master wants each of the new recruits to be accompanied by another member on their first request.” She reminded him, an air of authority suddenly present in her voice. Both Natsu and I let out a loud, childish huff at the same time, turning our backs on one another.

“I told you, I can take care of myself, I don’t need anyone else to babysit me.” I grumbled, and her eyes flashed.

“Just go with Natsu, it won’t hurt you.”

I sighed and shoved the request paper into my pocket, glancing at the pouting, pink-haired punk.

“Meet me here tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp.” I announced, earning a reluctant nod from him. “We’ll leave right after that.”

~~~

I shouldered my pack and marched into the Fairy Tail headquarters at approximately 9:15 am. I was more than annoyed, and I couldn’t care less about being late. Being thrown out of an inn wasn’t exactly the best way to start your morning

“You’re late.”

I was greeted by a mildly frustrated Natsu.

“And you’re annoying.” I quipped. “You can scold me later Natsu – we’re already running behind.”

“ Jeez, you don’t have to be so pushy.” He grumbled, dragging his feet behind me as I strode forward. “Why don’t you take it easy like me, relax a little you know?”

Needless to say, by the time we were out of the door the memory of my tardiness had already slipped our minds.

“So…” I began in a vain attempt to strike up a conversation, “a little birdy told me that you’re a dragon-slayer.”

“Aye! Natsu’s the best in all Fiore!” A disembodied voice exclaimed, and I looked at Natsu in confusion, realizing that the squeaking voice hadn’t come from him. My gaze fell onto our only other companion, a small blue cat walking on two legs beside Natsu. I almost pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

“Did your cat just talk?” I blurted, and Natsu responded with an animated nod.

“Of course!”

“I can fly too!” The creature chirped, and I stared on in shock as the cat displayed this magnificent feat. It sprouted two angelic white wings, rising a few feet from the ground and hovering in the air. The young man beside released a content laugh.

“Happy’s a pretty impressive cat.” He stated, looking down at the creature with affection.

“You could say that again.” I replied, the ghost of a smile tugging at my lips as I glanced down at the adorable feline. A comfortable silence passed between us as we continued down the streets of Magnolia.

“What exactly is this request anyways?” Natsu piped up, his curiosity getting the better of him. “We fighting a Gorian or something? Ending an evil curse? Finding buried treasure? Please tell me it isn’t picking berries or something.”

“None of the above, actually. We’re subduing a group of wanted bandits whose base lies in the east forest. It shouldn’t be much trouble for us.” I explained, and he sped up, increasing his pace so that he was now in stride with my own. I stared straight ahead, but I could still see the peculiar look he was giving me from the corner of my eye.

“What kind of mage did you say you were again?” He asked, the skepticism clear in his tone. I bit my lip for a moment before I replied, my resolve hardened as I spoke.

“Water. I’m a water mage.”

“You sure don’t smell like Juvia…”

“Who’s Juvia?”

“Our top water mage in the guild and from what I see – I doubt that there’s any way you could beat her.” He added, and I scoffed.

“I guess we’ll have to see.” I mused, and he looked at me as if I had a screw loose. “What? I was just kidding. In all truth I probably _couldn’t_ beat her, not if she’s one of your best mages.”

He paused. “Well she’s nothing like Erza or Gajeel or I, but she’s pretty good.” He conceded. “How good are you?”

“I’m mediocre – below average. I only know a few spells, and even then they aren’t the best offensive ones.” I stated. Natsu didn’t say anything. He only stared at me, his eyes narrowed and his brows knit together in deep thought. I frowned. “What?”

“Are you _sure_ that you aren’t any good? There’s no reason to be modest. You don’t need to worry about that with me I-“

“I’m not being modest.” I interjected. He narrowed his eyes.

“You sure about that?” He pressed.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I replied with a laugh. “Natsu, you’d think that I’d have a pretty good grasp of my _own_ magic skill, wouldn’t you?”

“I’m not saying that you’re lying… It’s just – I can normally sense people’s magic energy pretty well, and yours seems to be…” He trailed off.

“It seems to be what?” I prompted, my stomach dropping as I fixed him with an innocent smile.

“It’s pretty high. I’m talking Erza level high, not just normal high too. And that kinda scares me.” He explained, his angled eyes looking at me with a new level of respect. I released a falsetto laugh.

“You’re probably just sensing my levels all wrong, Natsu. Look at all the people we’re surrounded by – I’m sure you’re just getting me mixed up with one of them.” I told him, motioning to the crowd around us. He simply shrugged, but I could tell he wasn’t buying it.

~~~

The request had flown by, with the dragon slayer and I both quickly apprehending the bandits at their camp in the forest. I had merely sat back, reluctantly drawing my knife while he had flung himself forward into the brawl, something I wish that I could have done, but prevented myself from doing. It was truly for my own good. After we had wrapped things up and gotten the Magnolia authorities to come collect the outlaws, we received our reward, and I insisted that the Pink haired boy take at least two thirds, if not more, for he had done most of the work. He had denied the money, even though I hadn’t used any magic on the mission, saying that he didn’t need it and that I was the one that was broke. I had given in and taken all 50,000 jewel.

We’d returned to the guild hall later that afternoon, both of us in high spirits after our completed mission. I sat, sipping contentedly at a mug of ale that Mirajane had brought over in celebration of my first mission – at least until a blond bombshell slipped into the seat across from me.

“Are you Xandria?”

I nodded at her. “The one and only.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you.” She replied with a smile, what I was beginning to consider the signature mark of a fairy tail wizard. “Levy told me all about you. Honestly you should’ve heard the girl. She kept going on and on about how great you were. And she said you knew Laxus too (he’s such an asshole isn’t he?). I had to meet you for myself.” I set down my mug.

“She really said all that?” I blurted, my brows shooting to my hairline as I stared at the blond woman. She gave me an enthusiastic nod.

“Of course, Levy has a habit of speaking glowing terms of those deserving it.”

“That was really nice of her…”

“I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear you think so.” The blond girl replied, and I met her soft gaze with one of my own.

“What’s your name?” I inquired.

“Lucy Heartfilia.”

“She mentioned you – said I’d have to meet you soon. Levy called you the goddess of fashion, or something.” I stated, and the girl across from me absolutely beamed.

“Oh, now, that’s not really true.”

“Don’t be so modest.” I said, starting to warm up to this girl. “I knew wonderful but I certainly wasn’t expecting to meet someone so charming.”

“Why thank you…”

“Don’t thank me; I was simply stating the facts.”

Lucy turned positively scarlet. I was exaggerating, of course, but if I wanted friends I might as well start now. Besides, she did seem like a wonderful girl, if a little bit scattered. After a moment she cleared her throat, a pinkish blush still staining her cheeks.

“So how was your first job with Natsu?” She inquired.

“It went really well actually. Natsu was a little childish but aside from that everything went perfectly.”

“Natsu’s more than a little childish, believe me.” She said with a laugh, and I nodded indulgently.

“You could say that again.”

“I remember when I went on my first job – it was with Natsu as well. I’ve only just joined this guild a few months ago, but already so much has happened since then.”

“I heard about the confrontation Fairy Tail had with Phantom Lord.” I offered, and Lucy’s features grew solemn.

“Juvia and Gajeel are both former members, but I think they both like Fairy Tail much better than their former guild.”

“Indeed.”

“Well,” Lucy blurted, her expression clearing as she glanced up at me. “Levy mentioned other things about you, aside from just the praise. Like how you need a place to stay…” Lucy trailed off, a wicked grin stealing across her face. “And I just so happen to be renting an apartment that more than enough room for the both of us. You could stay there for the time being, as long as you pay half of the rent every month.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re being serious?” I asked, and she smirked.

“Why would I lie?”

I thought it over for a moment. It was probably the best option I had – there was no way I wanted to live alone, at least not at first, and even though I didn’t know the girl, I’m sure I wouldn’t hate her. She seemed rather nice (maybe a bit _too_ nice but I could always work around it) and she was obviously sociable. Besides if we didn’t get along I could always move out.

“How much is the rent each month?” I inquired up, and Lucy flashed me a smile.

“70,000 jewel, so that’s-“

“35,000 per person – that’s quite cheap.” I finished, and pulled a stack of cash from my pocket, counting off the bills until I was sure it was the right amount. 40,000 jewel. “Here, this should be enough to cover my first month, along with any extra expenses.” Her eyes boggled at the sight of the money, and she snatched it from my hand, greedily counting the cash off.

“Really? Thanks!”

“No problem.” I paused. “So where is this place located at? I’m going to need to know how to get home, aren’t I?” Lucy laughed.

“Strawberry Street – it overlooks one of the city’s main canals. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s an adorable little apartment with red walls and a dark brown roof. Here.” She paused and reached into a little purse that she carried at her side. Pulling out a small silver key she handed it to me. “This is the spare key, don’t’ lose it, I only have two. I won’t be home until late tonight either, I have a few errands I need to run, so feel free to get settled in.” I nodded.

“Thanks again.” I added, giving her a genuine smile, something I didn’t normally do.

“Don’t thank me, thank Levy; she’s the one who told me about how badly you needed a place to stay.  I figured that since I needed someone to help me pay my rent it was the perfect option to let you live with me.” Lucy explained, and rose from her seat, walking away from me. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find it Xandria, it’s the brightest one on the row of houses.”

And with that she was gone, leaving me behind in the middle of the guild with nothing but my thoughts and a brass key to keep me company. I sighed, not knowing what to do. It was already late in the afternoon, and I didn’t have any plans. Levy was absent from the guild, and now with Lucy and the dragon slayer gone as well, there was no one left that I knew, save for Mirajane. My eyes scanned over the crowd, trying to pick out someone that I might find interesting, but I gave up, deciding that I should probably go to the apartment and get settled in.

~~~

I slowly opened the door to the apartment, entering the quaint little house and examining the surroundings. Salmon walls and cherry wood floors greeted me. I grimaced, noticing the frilly, girly style that this young woman loved to decorate her home with. An obnoxious pink filled my vision everywhere I looked, even in the darkness. Glancing around the room once more I realized that it contained only one bed – and with the cramped space I hadn’t the faintest idea of how we could possibly manage to fit two. I frowned and moved to turn the light on, but suddenly a loud crashing noise came from a closed wooden door in the corner of the room. My breath caught in my throat as I saw someone emerge, and instinctively I shifted into a defensive position. A man with a full head of spiky black hair appeared from behind the door. He was practically naked – wearing nothing more than a pair of black boxers and a cross necklace.

“Sorry Lucy, I think your-“ He began, but stopped, a dark look crossing his face upon realizing that I was most definitely _not_ the blond woman he was expecting. “You aren’t Lucy.”

“Neither are you.” I pointed out, taking a meaningful step forward. Suddenly however a loud grunting noise came from behind me and I whirled around my gaze flickering to the single bed that lay in the room. Extending a tentative hand I pulled back the sheet, revealing none other than a drowsy Natsu.

“Xandria?” He drawled, looking up at me with sleepy eyes. “Why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” I exclaimed. “This is the apartment that I’m renting with Lucy! Why are you two idiots here?”

“Idiots?” The one with the black hair echoed, obviously not appreciating the comment.

“And why aren’t you wearing any clothes?” I continued, motioning to his indecency. He blanched, and Natsu laughed at him.

“Gray here has a bad habit of striping his clothes off in random situations. You know how some people have a habit of biting their nails when they’re nervous? Yeah, well, Gray here just removes his clothing instead.” The dragon slayer explained, a look of amusement on his face.

“How does that even make sense?” I exclaimed, confusion filling my features as I tried to wrap my mind around his odd stripping habit. I couldn’t. Usually I could grasp most things. The people of Fairy Tail only kept getting weirder and weirder.

“Listen, we just came here to see Lucy, when is she going to be home?” Gray grumbled, and I rolled my eyes.

“Wow, I can really feel the love.”

“We don’t even know you.” He pointed out.

“Pinkie here knows me.” I stated dryly, crossing my arms as I gave this ‘Gray’ an underwhelmed once over. He turned pink with anger before clenching his fists, holding his tongue, and turning to the man beside us.

“Really Natsu?” Gray inquired, earning a nod from the other boy.

“Yeah, she’s a Fairy Tail mage.” Natsu said passively, standing up beside me. “Didn’t you see her when she joined up yesterday?’

“I was out on a job, so no, I did not.” He informed us, his features glacial.

“Listen Gray, or whatever your name is, I’ll let you and Natsu stay in my apartment as long as you put on some clothes and fix whatever you broke in the other room.” I announced, raising my chin and refusing to break eye contact.

“Your apartment? This is Lucy’s house!” Gray shouted, his anger bubbling over.

“She invited me to be her roommate. So now it’s my house too, and if you think that I’d allow underdressed perverts in my house, then you’re sorely mistaken.” I stated, folding my arms. His eyes flashed as he fixed me with a stony glare.

“Haha that’s right! Gray the pervert!” Natsu exclaimed with a wide grin.

“The same goes for you dragon boy, don’t think that you can keep lying around in Lucy’s bed like that.” I barked, and he shrank back. “Not unless either of you are her boyfriend.” I added on second thought, examining both of them. “But I doubt you are.”

“Lucy?” Natsu asked with a laugh. “No way, never. She’s like a sister.”

“Well fine, then stay on your sister’s side of the room and don’t bother me.” I concluded, sinking into the plush surface that was Lucy’s bed. The dragon slayer crossed his arms, frowning at me.

“But you’re sitting on her bed!”

I shrugged.

“While you’re here would you mind moving the bookshelves to the walls of the parlor right there?” I asked after a moment, noticing the free space by the entryway.

“What? Why us?” Gray grumbled, and I rolled my eyes.

“I need room for the bed that I going to order, so I’ll have to place it on the opposite wall of Lucy’s bed.” I explained, and paused before giving them both a hesitant smile. “Please.”

The pink haired boy sighed and began moving towards the bookcases against the wall, pushing against one and moving it towards the door. I sighed and leaned back against Lucy’s bed, somehow worn out from doing literally nothing at all on that mission.

~ **Lucy’s POV** ~

She had completely rearranged my room. That _girl_ had completely moved all of the furniture on the far wall to the foyer to make room for her ‘bed’ that wouldn’t even be arriving for three or four more days. And then she had the audacity to pass out on my bed! _MY BED_! Leaving me with a few scraggly blankets and the cold _floor_ to sleep on.

Talk about a pain in the ass.

It was already blatantly obvious that living with her was going to be a challenge, but for now, I suppose I’d let her sleep. She was obviously tired from going on her first request with Natsu, and she looked a lot more peaceful asleep like that – a lot younger, even though she obviously wasn’t old.


	4. Chapter 4

"Life is too important to be taken seriously"

~~~

As usual, Natsu was being disruptive.

“This ain’t right Gramps! Why’d you throw Laxus out?”

Comment after comment came from the pink-haired pyro, each one loud (and decidedly more annoying) than the last. And try as I might, I couldn’t just ignore Natsu. I’d quickly come to the conclusion that _no one_ , regardless of how patient or composed they were, could ignore the fireball.

It’d been going on for hours, non-stop griping about how ‘Laxus’ shouldn’t have been kicked out. Laxus this. Laxus that. Oh _poor_ Laxus.

Oh poor Xandria was more like it.

As far as I was concerned, Laxus was an ass. It was his fault that Pinkie was acting like this in the first place. My ears were practically _bleeding_ (okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration) from hearing all the whining. If I ever so Laxus again I’d be sure to give him a piece of my mind.

“Is he always like this?” I groaned, scowling at Levy – the epitome of patience and grace – that sat across the table from me. She gave me a weak smile.

“He’s part of our family you know! Fighting’s just a part of being family, right?” The pink haired boy continued, grilling the master under his booming voice. I moved to stand up, finally reaching the end of my chain, but before I could reach him, a commandeering voice rang in my ears.

“Enough of this Natsu!” Erza declared, stepping forward and placing a warning hand on the boy’s shoulder. Natsu practically purpled in rage.

“I wanna fight him again! Next time I’ll be strong enough to win against him face to face!”

“I said enough!” She shouted, and tightened her grip on his collarbone. “Think about the master’s feelings! Do you think he expelled Laxus because he _wanted_ to?”

“But-“

“It’s because it turned out Laxus was a Dragon Slayer like Natsu.” Happy chimed in from his place on his partner’s shoulder, and I turned, looking at the cat in clear shock. Yet _another_ dragon slayer at Fairy Tail.

“No, he is _not_ a Dragon Slayer. Laxus was frail when he was a child, so his father Master Ivan embedded a lacrima that allows a person to use dragon slayer magic inside of his body.”

“Dragon slayer magic lacrima? Things like that exist?” Happy blurted, his expression matching Natsu’s. I shook my head, allowing the words sink in. So this was the true power of the man I had met, and yet, he hadn’t seemed nearly as powerful as the man they were describing. I could sense that he had a respectable magic power within him, but enough to wipe out a city?

**~Two Days Later~**

“It’s just, I think I want something a little more cutting edge…” Lucy trailed off, turning around from the vanity to consult me. “What do you think, Xandria?”

“Yeah sure.” I added my gaze not moving up from the book I’d snatched from her bookshelf. I hadn’t been paying much attention to the whole hair styling situation. There was nothing wrong with her hair before, and there was nothing wrong with it now that the crab man had styled her blond locks. Personally I thought she looked nice either way.

“I shouldn’t have asked you.” She grumbled, and I reluctantly glanced upwards, notcing the scowl that crossed her face as she removed the updo Cancer had put her hair in.

“So you don’t like it – baby?” The hairstylist muttered, placing his scissors in the pouch on his hip and looking down at her in distaste.

“No it’s not that, it’s just-“ The blond girl pouted, and then stopped suddenly, a slight grin light up her melodramatic face. “How about I go to the bookstore and buy a hair and makeup magazine? Then I’ll ask you again!” And before either of us could say anything, Lucy ran out the door. I sighed, shooting the crab an irritated glance.

“Yeah, I know, I’ll go make sure she buys it, you stay right here.” I told him, running out of the house after the overly impulsive girl.

It had taken me almost ten minutes to find the bookstore, and when I walked in there was no sign of Lucy, causing my temper to spike. As I approached the woman at the front, she shrank back slightly, noticing my frustrated state.

“M-may I help you?” She stuttered, looking at me with a pair of big brown eyes, similar to Lucy’s in a way. I sighed.

“I was wondering if you’ve seen a blond woman enter this shop anytime within the past fifteen minutes.” I explained. “She’s average height, a few inches shorter than me, about yay high.” I motioned to my chin. “rather curvy.”

“Oh yeah, I saw her, she ran out after introducing herself to a handsome young author that just arrived here from Hargeon, shouting something about a fateful encounter. After that the guy she met bought a book, coincidentally named fateful encounter and went out after her. I don’t know what happened to them after that.” She informed me, and I nodded.

“Thank you,” I said, and noticed the magazines standing on a rack a few feet away. I only hesitated slightly before I gave in to kindness. “For now I’ll just be buying a hairstyle and makeup magazine. Would you mind telling me which one you think is the best?”

“Here, try this one, the first part seems a little over the top, but I really liked some of the hairstyles in the back, and the makeup all looks pretty good, nothing too dramatic.” She assured me, and I nodded vaguely, not catching onto a word she was saying. “Do you normally wear makeup?”

“The magazine is for a friend, actually. The blond girl that ran out was planning on getting herself a copy, but seeing as how she didn’t, it seems as though now it’s my job to get her one.” I explained.

“Well I’m sure she’ll like it.” The salesclerk said, and then offered me a sheepish grin.

“Thanks.” I placed 700 jewel on the counter to pay for the magazine. I grabbed it and headed for the exit. Curious thoughts filled my head as I flipped through the magazine, walking down the cobbled streets of Magnolia without an actual destination in mind. I stopped suddenly however, and looked up, an intoxicating scent filling my nose.

“Madame Hideki’s Beauty Boutique and Scent Salon.”

And – against my better judgment – I found myself entering the small store, my impulsiveness getting the better of me yet again.

I ended up purchasing 4,000 jewel worth of beauty supplies, which was a particularly foolish move on my part. It was impossible to say no to the saleswomen there. If I would’ve tried the clerks probably would’ve sprayed me with yet another perfume. Somewhere along the way I had probably been poisoned by the noxious fumes, but who really knew?

I’d made my way home after the ridiculous shopping trip.

Sighing and fumbling with my cloak, I tried to get past it to the pocket of my pants where I had tucked away the key. Pulling it from its hiding place, I balanced the bag of beauty supplies I had purchased in one arm and moved to unlock the door, but surprisingly I found that it was unlocked.

I furrowed by brow, but let it go and pushed the large wooden door open, assuming that I must have forgotten to lock it when I made my hurried exit.

“Miss Xandria, you have returned.” A stiff voice greeted my ears as I flicked the light switch on. For a moment I froze, the image of the goat spirit flashing into my mind, but as quickly as the memory was there, it was gone, replaced by the image of Lucy’s spirit standing in front of me, a stoic expression on his face. “Where is-“

“I couldn’t find Lucy.” I said with a sigh, releasing some of the tension from the body and trying to slow my heart rate. “But I did get the magazine she wanted, as well as some makeup for her.” I dumped the contents of the bag onto the only table in the room, watching as the wooden surface was covered with products.

“Lucy already has plenty of makeup that I use on her. Is all of this really for her?” The spirit prompted, and I sighed, grabbing the magazine in my hands and sitting down in front of the vanity, examining my face.

“Yes…” I mumbled. “Well… maybe a _little_ is for me.” I leaned forward on my elbows, noticing how plain I looked at the moment, and cast a weary glance at the cutting-edge man through the mirror. “I’m pitiful aren’t I?”

“I don’t think so – baby.” He said, stepping behind me and looking in the mirror.

“I need something, though…”  I trailed off looking down at the magazine. I flipped through a few pages, noticing a few cute short hairstyles, but none suited me. I skipped forward toward the longer hairstyles at the back, and stopped on a random page, my eyes moving over the different pictures.

“Has something caught your eye?” The spirit inquired, and I looked up at him in the mirror.

“Yeah, I’m going to need your help crab-man. Would you mind cutting my hair like this?” I asked, pointing to the picture.

“Crab…Man?” He echoed, stepping towards me with a peculiar expression on his face.

I laughed. “Cancer?”

“Yes.” He answered, and slowly picked up the magazine. After a moment of examining it and glancing back down at my hair, his finally raised his scissors, wielding them like weapons. And with that he set to work, snipping and cutting each different section of my hair.

It took a little under five astonishing minutes for him to finish, ten minutes filled with his constant muttering as I watched small pieces of my hair fall to the floor and disappear as part of his magic. And I looked in the mirror, happy with the finished product. I turned around so that I could face him.

“Thank you crab-man.” I said, giving him a smile, something I normally didn’t offer people. “This was very kind of you.”

“I’m glad that Miss Xandria likes it.” He stated, but I could hear a slight bitterness in his tone, probably as he thought of the unappreciative Lucy from earlier. I rolled my eyes.

“I’m going to the guild to see if I can find her. “ I told him, standing from my chair. My cloak swayed with me as I did so. “Make sure to let her know I’ve gone out looking for her if she comes back.” The spirit nodded, and I left, exiting the room in one swift fashion, and this time remembering to lock the door behind me on my way out.

~~~

“Lucy!” I called as I walked into the Fairy Tail hall, my eyes scanning the large room looking for any sign of the blond woman. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t see her anywhere. I guess Lucy just didn’t want to be found today. Letting out a hiss of annoyance, I looked around once more, but this time I wasn’t searching for Lucy. My eyes fell on Levy, and in a flash I had reached the booth she was sitting at with her two partners.

She greeted me with a smile. “Hi, Xandria!” I nodded, glancing reluctantly at the two men beside her. She seemed to notice this, and with an understanding nod she spoke once more. “I forgot, you haven’t met the rest of my team yet.” Levy elbowed a carrot headed man beside her.

“I’m Jet.” He announced.

“I’m Droy.” The other man, one with dark hair and sharp features stated.

“And together with me we make up team shadow gear!” Levy exclaimed proudly, beaming at me. The other two men smiled weakly, obviously lacking the same enthusiasm that their female companion had. I had to refrain from rolling my eyes.

“Sorry, but I can’t chat at the moment. I’m looking for Lucy, and I was wondering if you’d seen her anywhere.” I stated, cutting straight to the point. Levy looked at me for a moment, as if surprised by my bluntness.

“Well, now that you mention it, I think that I saw her with Mira earlier, but I can’t be sure.” She answered, “Nothing’s wrong is it?”

“I don’t think so. She just disappeared earlier after she ran out on an errand. I asked around and I found out that she ran off the some guy she’d only just met.” I explained. “Which was really bothering me.”

“She can take care of herself.” Levy reassured me.

“I know, I know.” I trailed off.

“Don’t worry.”

And idea suddenly popped into my head, and I stared at the bluenette with newfound energy. “Hey Levy, since Lucy probably won’t be coming home tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to come over? Lucy’s personal hairstylist is at our house, and now that I’ve already taken advantage of him, you should as well.”

“That’s actually a really good idea.” She agreed with a grin, pushing Droy aside and standing from her seat. “I’ll grab my things from the dorms and be at your place in thirty minutes.”

And with that she walked away from the three of us, quickly heading towards the exit.

~~~

“All I’m saying is that you need to get out of that ratty cloak and into something nicer.” Levy pointed out with a laugh. “Hiding behind layers of dark fabric isn’t the most attractive thing to do.”

“I’m fine being hidden behind layers of dark fabric, thank you very much. Besides, I think I look perfectly attractive as is.” I retorted as I reluctantly picked up the fashion magazine she had thrown at me. “You can have this back.” I threw it at her head, and she dodged to the left just before it flew into the wall, colliding with the pink wallpaper with a soft sffsh.

“You aren’t getting out of it.” She promised, scaring me slightly as a dark look crossed her delicate featuers. “You already cut your hair, though that wasn’t a particularly dramatic change.”

“ I don’t care what you say, you won’t be able to get me out of this cloak anytime soon.”

“Watch me.” She challenged. “I’m taking you tomorrow to buy new clothes. If you’re going to wear the same thing every day, at least let it be something attractive.”

“I use a cleaning charm, it’s not like I’m filthy.” I began, but she shook her head.

“Whatever, we’re still going. It’ll be fun.”

“It doesn’t _sound_ like fun.” I grumbled, and she laughed.

“Oh lighten up a bit. Have you never gone shopping before?”

“Of course I have.” I defended. “That doesn’t mean I like it.”

“You sound just like a man.”

I stuck out my tongue and the girl across from me released a tinkling laugh.

~~~

“What about this one?” I inquired, holding up a dark shirt that I had found on a nearby rack. Levy’s face turned white when she saw the skull stamped across it

“I told you, we’re looking for something a bit _nicer_ than that ragged dark hood, preferably something that will brighten your whole dark and mysterious look up a bit.” She reminded me, and I frowned, placing the article of clothing back where it belonged and walking over to another shelf. “You do realize that people stare when you walk around in a ridiculous costume like that.”

“I swear Levy, if you make me wear something stupid-“

“I won’t.” She promised, shooting me a smile as she peered over a row of tops. “We’re looking for something that reflects you’re personality too, and since you’re _so_ smart, how could I get you something stupid?” I detected sarcasm in her tone, which made me scowl.

“Then why are you getting me something cheerful?” I grumbled, moving towards a large display of pants. I curiously lifted up a pair, examining the leopard design on them.

“Don’t be so negative, black isn’t your color.” She stated.

“Thanks for letting me know, Miss Sunshine.” I retorted, and placed the ugly pants back down. I turned around, and jumped backwards when I saw Levy standing right behind me, her hands on her hips.

“Stop being so difficult. You can’t keep going on wearing trousers and a cloak forever.” She said, giving me a serious look. I guess I hadn’t realized that she was the more mature of the two of us. “Now go, I’ll find a few things for you to try on here while you look in the underwear department.”

“The underwear department?” I echoed in horror, and she gave me a dry look.

“Honestly Xandria, grow up.” She muttered, and with a slight smile to herself she shook her head and turned around. I sighed and reluctantly headed in the direction of the lingerie, dragging my feet to delay my arrival. I loathed shopping for clothes, especially when it came to the more intimate purchases, thus being one of the reasons why I had avoided shopping as much as I could

And finally I reached the dreaded section of the large store we were in. With a disheartened sigh I began browsing, but finally I gave up, asking the clerk if they carried anything without lace and that could actually be considered underwear that could actually be considered underwear (seriously why would you want floss up your ass). The woman laughed, explaining that this store exclusively carried lacey lingerie, but, there was a shop a few blocks away that I could try my luck at. I scowled at her and grabbed a pair of black undergarments, marching back out to meet Levy and rub it in her face that I had gotten something in the color she had specifically told me not to get anything in.

“Hey Levy-“ I began, but she cut me off, smiling in my direction when she realized that I was back.

“Oh good you’re back here.” She handed me a small stack of clothing, and pointed towards the back. “Go to the changing rooms and try everything on. Let me know what you like.”

I blinked, my temper fading away as I looked down at the stack of clothes, back at Levy, and then in the direction of the changing rooms, finally tottering off where she had pointed me too. Once I reached the changing room, I looked over the clothes and automatically threw out a few. An exceptionally low cut top, a too short skirt, a flashy pink toga, and a frilly pair of parachute pants; none of them suited my tastes. I sighed and looked at what was left, a pair of flowy pants and a halter top, both of which semi-suited my tastes. It looked about my size, so I put it aside, not even bothering to try it on (trying on clothes was a pain). There was only one outfit left, and my eyes flicked over it, the sudden purple catching my eye.

My heart stopped, and the memory filled my mind.  
 

_A younger, much more lighthearted version of me was bouncing around the halls of my home, wrapped in the purple cloth I had found sitting useless in the back of one of our closets. I valiantly approached the bearded man, the one I called my father, stepping before him with a smile._

_“Papa! Look! Look at me!” I exclaimed, twirling before him and letting the rich violet cloth fan around me like a robe. “I look like royalty, don’t I?” A giggle erupted from my small form, however the man remained unaffected. He stared down at me, glacial features scanning over me in disinterest. After a moment he spoke, his deep voice enough to strike fear into the hearts of everyone, except for me._

_“Alexandria, shouldn’t you be working on your studies?”  He inquired, leaning back in his large chair as he stared at me. “I just acquired two new magic books for you. I expect a bright young mage like you to be learning from them, not fooling around with some cloth like a fool.”_

_“But-“ I began, my eight year old self unable to comprehend why I had to study magic so often._

_“Please, Xandria, you know that you’re anything but royalty. Now give me that. It’s not yours and you know better than to play things that don’t belong to you. How old are you now, nine? Ten? I thought you’d know better than to act so foolishly by now.” He hissed, and I looked at him in horror, large, salty tears beginning to spill from my eyes._

_“Dad, I’m eight… y-you know that.” I begged, using the large purple cloth to wipe at some of my tears. His mouth curled into a sneer._

_“Oh stop your crying. I thought you were supposed to be strong, not some sniveling excuse of a child.”_

_“You don’t mean that!”_

_“I meant every word. Now give me the damned fabric already!” He ordered, and stood up, moving forward to take the purple cloth I had been clinging onto. I pulled away from him, wiping my tears and raising my arm._

_“Leave me alone!” I screamed, shooting the blast of powerful magic at the man I called my father._   
  


I gasped, pulling away from the purple clothing that Levy had picked out for me. My eyes widened as I remembered the beating I had received that day. I had almost forgotten about that incident, I had tried burying it along with the rest of my memories from my younger years.

I cleared my throat and with a strong resolve I removed my clothing and lifted the purple outfit Levy had picked out for me from the bench I had set it on. It was simple, a draped purple skirt made of silky fabric that fell at my knees on one side and ended right in the middle of my mid-thigh on the other. The top that went along with it was a halter, like the other, and revealed a few inches of my stomach. I pulled on a pair of black flats that Levy had provided me with, slipping them over my feet and noticing the sturdy leather they were made of.

I turned to examine myself in the mirror and smiled slightly as a single, remorseful tear fell down my cheek. I did look nice. Maybe I wasn’t royalty but that didn’t mean I couldn’t look pretty.

“Xandria, you have any luck yet?” Levy’s voice called out from the other side of the stall, and I opened the door, stepping out to greet her. Her eyes widened.

“What do you think?” I asked, looking at her sheepishly. She stared at me.

“Is that what you were hiding under those cloaks?” She asked me with a grin.

“Levy!” I exclaimed, my cheeks heating up with a surprised flush. The bluenette laughed.

“Please tell me that you’re getting that.” Levy piped up, looking me over in the purple outfit once again. I shrugged.

“Yeah, I think so.” I told her, intentionally avoiding mention of my memory. I wouldn’t tell her that the main reason I bought it was to defy my father. I grinned to myself thinking of it. “What do you think of my new look? Is it too revealing?”

“Cana parades around in a bikini top all day, and Lucy usually wears much less clothing than you have on right now.” She reassured me. “You’re fine. After all, the only actual skin you’re showing with that is your stomach.”

“Alright Levy.” I agreed with a nod, shifting the clothing in my arms. “Where do I go buy these?”

“The counter over there.” She pointed, and I nodded, shoving the clothing I didn’t want in her arms along with my abandoned cloak. I marched in the direction of the cashier, placing the other pants and top on the counter along with the undergarments.

“I’d like to buy these, along with what I’m wearing.” I stated.

~~~

“Hold still, Xandria!” Lucy ordered, narrowly missing poking me in the eye as she applied the makeup on my face. “I can’t put makeup on you if you keep moving around.”

“Why am I even letting you do this?” I grumbled, crossing my arms as she applied the dark goop to my eyelashes. I was getting annoyed of her eccentricities as she smeared lotions and sunscreen into my skin, constantly running her mouth without any real goal. Makeup had no tactical advantage, other than to attract potential mates, so I saw no use for it at the moment.

“There. I’m done. What do you think Levy?” She announced, showing her finished product to the blue haired girl that sat behind us on the bed. I opened my eyes, waiting for her reaction. Levy smiled at me, giving me a thumbs up.

“She looks beautiful. I think you should do me next Lucy.” Levy said, and I turned around so that I could see myself. My eyes widened when I saw the woman in the mirror. It’s not that I looked that much different. I was still clearly the same girl, with the stormy blue eyes and splattering of freckles across my cheeks and crooked nose, but I no longer looked as tired as I normally did. She hadn’t put very much on – I hadn’t let her.

“I need to seal it with the charm first.” Lucy explained. “Come here Xandria.” I turned and gave her a confused look.

“You need to what?!”

“That way it won’t come off in water, sweating, sleeping, etc.” She told me, raising a small bowl that appeared to be filled with dust. “Don’t worry – it doesn’t last that long, and I can teach you how to take it off if you want. But it’s much less of a hassle to seal it.”

“Do you do it?”

“Yeah. All I do is dust this across your face, say a little spell, and boom – you’re ready to go.” She confirmed.

“I can still wash my face right?”

“Of course.”

“Go ahead then.” I murmured, waving my hands in dismissal. She smiled, grabbing a brush and dipping it in the clear powder. After a moment she had covered my face in the stuff, whispered a spell, and a strange tingling sensation set in.

“It feels funny at first, but after a couple of minutes it’ll go away and you’ll feel normal.”

“Well then, I guess its Levy’s turn now.”

And true to her word I felt normal after a few minutes, laughing along with Lucy and Levy as we gave the bluenette a makeover, spiking her hair up in a Mohawk and trying to convince her to wear black lipstick that Lucy had saved for ‘special occasions’. I even opted to pierce her ear with a clothespin that I found on the floor, but apparently that wasn’t ‘safe’ or ‘sanitary’ enough for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, by far, the most bothersome chapter that I've written. I hate physically describing my character (I like to leave that up to you, the reader), but I had to do some in this chapter and now I'm really frustrated. It took me forever to write and I'm still not happy with it. Oh well, I'll be updating the next chapter very soon, so I hope that will make up for it.


	5. Chapter 5

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

~~~

I knocked my fist against the door of our apartment, and Lucy yanked it open, revealing her face. I frowned when I saw the annoyed look that was stamped across it as she welcomed me inside.

“What’s your problem?” I questioned as the blond woman slammed the door behind me. She heaved an overdramatic sigh and plopped down onto her bed, falling into a pitiful heap. I rolled my eyes and slipped my flats off, climbing on top of my bed that had just arrived the day before.

“It’s just…” She trailed off in her usual dramatic way. “boys!”

“Are you really coming to me for relationship advice?” I inquired, and she rolled over so that she could face me, shooting me a sour look from her position atop her mattress.

“You haven’t had a boyfriend right? I just need to know I’m not the only person who hasn’t.” She pleaded, and I looked her over.

“I’ve had one, but I wouldn’t classify him as a boyfriend.” I told her.

“What would you classify him as then? Just a childhood crush? A ruse?” She offered, and I shook my head again. I raised an eyebrow.

“A ruse? I inquired with a laugh. Lucy frowned at me, and I cleared my throat before becoming serious. “No… He and I we were actually planning on getting married.” I explained. “He and I were closer than your typical boyfriend and girlfriend, I guess.” Lucy’s face fell, and darkness clouded her features.

“Married?”

“But things happened that tore us apart. Our views on the world were too different.” I continued. “He had been poisoned by an evil man.” Lucy stared at me, her imagination obviously intrigued by the idea. I shut up, realizing that I had said too much already. “God, this sounds like some kind of twisted fairy tale. We just didn’t work out, alright? But enough about me. Let’s talk about you and this romantic interest that you’re ever so frustrated with.”

“Don’t sugar coat it.” She grumbled, taking my bait. “There’s nothing _romantic_ about Natsu.”

I smirked at her.

“You and Pinkie?” I inquired, causing her to flush a beet red.

“No, there’s nothing going on between us.” She explained, her embarrassment transitioning into frustration. I gave her an understanding nod; I’d read enough cheesy romance novels to understand the situation.

“And that’s the problem isn’t it? You want something to happen between you.” I observed, and she furrowed her brows together.

“That’s what I’ve been wondering myself. At first I didn’t think so, but now... Argh!” She paused, throwing her face into her pillow. “I don’t know.” I laughed at her muffled voice, leaning back in my bed and thinking over Lucy and Natsu as a couple. It could work. They were compatible. But Natsu didn’t seem like the kind of person to be interested in romance. In fact he seemed very much like an overgrown child.

“We’ll just have to win him over.” I concluded, and she looked up, weary eyed.

“Natsu doesn’t take hints.”

“I’ll find a way, don’t worry.” I announced with a grin, causing Lucy to pale.

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t like it!” She exclaimed, and I laughed slightly.

“Yes you do, don’t kid yourself.”

**~Third Person POV~**

A little over a day had passed since Xandria had discovered Lucy’s confusing feelings towards Natsu, and during that time she had been working hard to find out everything she could concerning the couple-to-be from the members of the guild. After greeting several new faces that she hadn’t yet come to make the acquaintance of, the girl stumbled across none other than Juvia, who told her everything there was to know about Natsu and Lucy – and Juvia and Gray, who were apparently a happy couple on the path to be married soon (why a girl like Juvia wanted to marry a pervert like Gray was beyond her). But Xandria had smiled and nodded through all of it, listening to the other woman’s eccentric, and most likely exaggerated, stories of love and romance throughout the guild.

And whether or not she wanted to admit it, Xandria’s own memories of her former love were beginning to resurface. She tried to fight it, but the more involved she became in the lives of those around her, the more they began to slip into her mind, the turmoil of her past becoming too much to bear.

**~Xandria’s POV~**

I peered down at the young man and his cat that had arrived at the front of our house only moments ago, my curiosity peaking as I noticed that they didn’t come in, but instead waited outside. Pushing open the window, I leaned out, glancing down at him below.

“Sergant Happy!” Natsu shouted, looking around the empty street below before he turned to his companion. “Does everything look normal to you?”

“Aye, sir! Captain!” The cat agreed, floating upward on his wings. I folded my arms, an amused look crossing my face.

“Hey Captain Natsu!” I called, causing him to look up at me in surprise, his air of mystery fading. “You waiting on anyone in particular?” I smirked, and he frowned.

“Lucy.” He stated, tilting his head in confusion. I sighed. There was no one with a thicker skull than Natsu when it came to these sort of things.

“And why might you be waiting on her?” I prompted, hoping to get some sort of response out of him, but in truth I knew better than to expect anything.

“She said she thought that someone has been following her. Happy and I came to check it out.” The pink haired boy explained, and I frowned, stepping away from the window.

“I’m coming down!” I called, closing it quickly and heading towards the door. I flew down the flight of steps and arrived at the front entrance. I unlocked it and pushed the door open, stepping outside into the cool night air. “So what exactly did you mean by saying that someone was following her?”

“She said that she’s had this strange feeling for the past day or so. We wanted to make sure she was just being overly self-conscious.” He stated with a grin. “Which she was. Right Happy?”

“Aye Sir!”

The sudden sound of heels clicking against the cobblestones interrupted us, and I looked up, noticing Lucy approaching in her loud boots. Her face was down, a troubled expression clouding it and expelling her usual air of carefreeness. I frowned, and suddenly the pair of fools beside me stiffened, jerking their arm into a salute.

“Sergeant Happy, is everything normal?” Natsu demanded, staring straight ahead as the blond girl came to a stop in front of us.

“Aye, sir! Captain!” He echoed his earlier statement. “No suspicious characters around.”

“Welcome home Lucy, we made sure that no one was following you.” The dragon slayer told her, dropping his salute. She nodded.

“Thanks you guys…” She trailed off, her voice reflecting a surprising amount of sadness.

“Captain! This private here lacks enthusiasm, sir!” Happy exclaimed, looking at Natsu as he kept up their little act.

“Can’t you see that Lucy is upset?” I pointed out, and the two males turned to me, looks of genuine surprise on their face. I rolled my eyes.

“Xandria, there’s no need to-“

Lucy was cut off however, by a loud noise coming from the direction of the canal. Our heads turned in the direction and Happy flew over, hovering above the spot where a pale arm had just poked out.

“Captain! I’m spotted a questionable subject, sir!”

“There you are!” Natsu shouted, racing in the direction of the noise and jumping over the small building. He landed on top of the arm, or rather, the body that the arm belonged too, and a loud, pain filled grunt filled my ears. Lucy and I exchanged wary glances.

“That hurt you idiot!”

“What are you doing you jerk?”

Both Lucy and I ran towards the sound of the commotion, looking around the small shack that Natsu had scaled and noticing the man that Natsu had pinned to the ground.

“Gray!” Lucy exclaimed, and I stared at him, narrowing my eyes.

“So it was Gray that was following Lucy!” Happy concluded, and I scowled.

“N-no, it’s not…” Lucy trailed off.

“No!” Gray denied, and I turned to him, crossing my arms. “I heard that Lucy was being followed by someone suspicious, so I couldn’t just leave her alone. I came to see how she was doing.”

“He llllikes her.” Happy concluded,

“What kind of running gag is that?!”

“I never really liked you, but you just dropped even worse in my book Gray.”

“Oh yeah?!”

“Going around topless is one thing, but stalking girls?” Happy continued. “Either way you look at it you’re a giant per-“ Gray drew his arm back and swung forward, suddenly punching the small cat out of the way. I stared as Happy went soaring a few hundred feet in the opposite direction, surprised that he would hit something so defenseless like that.

“Oh, I ain’t gonna let you say it, no way.” He threatened, raising both of his fists in a offensive stance.

“I ain’t said anything.” Natsu argued, mimicking the stance Gray was taking.

“Shut up you crazy flame spewer.”

“Bring it on icy minty fresh.”

And with that they both charged at each other, swinging punches in their childlike rivalry. A dark look crossed my face as I marched in their direction.

“Xandria what are you-“ Lucy called, but her voice was cut off by those of Gray and Natsu.

“What’s wrong you icy bastard? Can’t handle the heat?”

“Let’s see if you can handle this!”

A sudden blast of ice formed between the two of them in their scuffle, which the dragon slayer batted aside easily with his flames.

“Oh yeah, how about-“

“Enough!” I shouted, shoving both of them backwards and into the canal with a powerful push of my hands. They both fell under, and I stared down at the rippling surface, my hands proudly hips and an angry expression on my face. They surfaced, both of them spewing water from their mouths in a fiery rage. “If you’re going to fight go do it someplace else, not in front of my house.”

“And what are you going to do about it if we do, water girl?” Natsu pressed, giving me a nasty glare from his spot below me. I clenched my fists.

“I’m going to whoop your ass until you learn any better!” I announced, shifting into a defensive stance as he moved to jump from the water. My temper flared as he lunged for me, fire at his fists. He swung at me, but I dodged, curling my left fist and bringing it hard underneath him and slamming it into his stomach. He grunted and slid back, staring at me.

“What was that?” He gasped, hunching over and looking up at me from his position kneeling down. I squared my shoulders, and looked down at him, a dark look clouding my face.

“What was what?”

“Your magic power.” He breathed, standing up to face me. “It-it knocked me backwards behind the force of your blow, I could _feel_ it.”

Shit.

I took a careful step back, my head beginning to spin as he continued to stare at me, something like betrayal written across his features.

“You’re mistaken. I could never generate that much magic energy.” I lied, staring down in horror at my two hands, the two hands that had betrayed me.

“No I’m not.” He told me, stepping forwards and suddenly grabbing my wrist. I looked up at him in shock, and he dropped it, pulling his hand away as if he, the Salamander of the East, had been burned. I pulled my hands to my chest, and his expression morphed into one of fear.

Why did this always have to happen?

“Don’t, Natsu-“ I began,  but he took a cautious step backwards, taking me in for what I truly was, seeing the weapon, the freak I had been formed into.

“What are you?” He breathed, and I shook my head.

“I-I’m-”

_You’re a monster._

The voice rang in my ears, surrounding me and practically drowning out my surroundings.

_Vile. Cruel. Filthy. Nasty. Rotten._

_You’re a freak, Xandria, and you’re never going to be anything else._

“Xandria?” Lucy’s questioning voice rang through the thick night air, and I heard her loud footsteps as she approached me, her heels clicking against the stones in the ground.

“Get away from me Lucy.” I ordered, my voice rising an octave as I took shaking breaths. I clenched my fists and focused on the ground, but it was almost too late now.

“What’s wrong with her, Lucy?” Gray inquired, and I gritted my teeth, feeling the energy that I had been trying to suppress for months now bubbling up within me. I could hear the rush of blood in my ears, the pounding heartbeat threatening to explode if I didn’t do something.

“I-I don’t know!” Lucy exclaimed.

I looked up, suddenly noticing the sky filled with stars. The stars…

“Hey Xandria, calm down.” Natsu’s voice greeted me as I looked to the heavens. Sweat dripped from my forehead as I tried to control it, a flare-up like one from my childhood. My chest heaved in and out, pumping oxygen from the air and to my heart, over and over, and over. I tried to focus on the rhythmic pattern.

But it was already too late.

The white magic circle formed beneath me, before I knew it, the runes stored in my head transferring to the ground below me. I hissed, trying in vain to eliminate it.

_But_ , I mused, _I should have expected this… I should have realized that I couldn’t just bottle it up. He must have known this too. He must have expected me to self-destruct, to destroy myself from trying so hard. He must have been waiting for me to burn out and die._

A sharp pain ripped through my chest, and I let out a carnal scream, the sounds cracking and twisting along with the pain that tore through my body. And I knew then that I couldn’t hold it in anymore. If I tried to stop it – I would die.

So I raised my hand upwards, a column of deep purple light bursting forth from my outstretched limb and tearing into the night sky, my magic somehow darker than the heavens themselves – almost like my heart.

And as soon as it had started, the spell ended, cutting off my connection with the stars above. I took a wobbling step backwards, my mind spinning and my lungs working in overdrive from the sheer lack of oxygen that filled my body. I faced the three others, lowering my hands and hanging my head in shame. I could practically feel the apprehension radiating off of them in waves.

“Alex-Alexandria?” Lucy stuttered, and I choked, the sudden emotion becoming too much for me.

“Please, don’t mention this too anyone.” I begged, a single tear falling down my face. “This… this isn’t what I want to be.” I held my hands in front of me, watching helplessly as they themselves were enveloped in white runes that melted away into a liquid like black light. “I didn’t know that I would flare up again…”

“What are you going on about?” Natsu questioned, being the first person to step forward towards me. I moved back.

“I-I can’t.” I muttered, watching silently as the unstable magic around my hands faded away.

“What was that?” Gray cut in, a distrustful expression on his face. I sighed slightly.

“That was my magic…” I mumbled, and sighed, letting the darkness overtake me as the last of my magic energy faded away from me.

The way she collapsed in on herself was beautifully tragic, like watching the death of a star.

~~~

_“Come here Alexandria.”_

_The young girl looked up from her schoolbooks and focused on the man she had become accustomed to calling her father over her past couple of months at his home. Her still innocent blue eyes widened when she realized that he had actually come to her quarters, something she had rarely seen the man do as he never left his grand room._

_“Yes, daddy?” She asked, standing up from her small chair and moving towards him. He towered over her, dwarfing the scrawny little girl in every possible way. He almost doubted his decision to take her in, seeing her small size – but only almost._

_“I want to show you something.” He announced with a falsetto smile, turning around and striding away from her. She blinked, and without a second thought, ran after the tall man._

_He took her out of her room and down several winding corridors before he finally reached his destination. He came to a stop in the large library, and, without warning, the impulsive girl came running in after him, smashing headfirst into the man. He gave her a scathing look, and she looked down in shame, but for the moment, he would simply have to ignore occurrences such as these. Still… she would have to learn eventually._

_“I’m sorry, I-I wasn’t looking.” She began, giving him a sheepish look. He frowned._

_“You have to learn to pay attention.” He rumbled, and turned back around to face the library of books. A pregnant pause passed between the two of them before the man hardened his resolve, speaking again. “Alexandria, I’m sure you know what magic is. You’ve not only seen your sister use it, but you’ve seen me as well, and many others.” The little girl nodded, her brown bob of hair bouncing up and down as she did so. “I’m sure you’ve also noticed the magic potential within yourself. I’ve noticed it, I saw how much there was within your tiny body from the moment you were just a little tike.” He took a deep breath, clasping his scarred hands together behind his back. “That’s why I’ve decided that starting today, I will be training you in a lost magic. That is,” He added, turning to face her with a gentle smile, giving her the fake sense of security he needed her to have, “only if you want to, of course.”_

_“Lost magic?” The five year old echoed, her curiosity getting the better of her. Her father nodded._

_“I am not wrong in saying that you’ve taken an interest in the stars, am I?” He asked her, and she thought it over, the names of a few constellations coming to her mind._

_“I like the worlds outside of earth.” She answered, and he nodded. “I like to imagine that each star in the sky isn’t just a star, but actually an angel poking a hole in the sky to look down at me.”_

_“Alexandria-“_

_“I know it sounds silly…” The little girl mumbled, looking down again. The man sighed, trying to find a way around her foolishness. “It makes me happy though.”_

_“No matter, the fact still stands that I have to teach you a form of magic.” The man stated, glancing away from the overemotional child. “There is something that I believe would be suited to you. It’s a form of magic that hasn’t been used in centuries due to instability. Great power comes with great risks, of course.” The little girl’s eyes widened, the prospect of having ‘great risks’ imposed upon her at such a young age seeming rather frightening. “It’s nothing you shouldn’t be able to handle though, as long as you’re using your magic often enough and not overexerting yourself, you should be fine.”_

_“But-“ She protested slightly, not sure if this was the magic she truly wanted to learn. Wouldn’t a basic caster magic be more suited to her? Something plain, like water? She had always found the way it flowed interesting._

_“Alexandria, with this magic, you would become one of the most powerful mages in all of Fiore.” Her father promised, a wicked grin marring his face as he thought of the future, thought of the possibilities._

_“What’s it called?”_

_“Magicae Astral, or simply put, the magic of the stars.” Her father figure informed her. “By using it, you manipulate and pull you strength directly from the cosmos. That’s why it can be so unstable, if one tries channeling too much energy through their body, it could very much likely kill them. Just as trying to suppress the magic could wear them down as well. We, as humans, cannot compare to stars. Our bodies are not capable of storing the amount of power a star can provide. That’s why you have to train yourself to be able to handle the magic.”_

_“It sounds scary.” The little one breathed, looking at him in fear._

_“You can’t be scared of anything anymore. You have to toughen up, Alexandria.” He grunted. “And after years of training, this magic will become second nature to you. You shouldn’t have to worry about being consumed by it. You won’t burn out.”_

_“But all stars are bound to die.” The bright little girl pointed out, earning a grumpy look from the man._

_“Not until they’re old and worn and grey.” He stated. “Besides,” He purred, fixing her with a sickly sweet smile, “I would **never** let you do something that might hurt you. I promise. You know how much I love you my precious little mage. Now go, continue working on your schoolwork for the rest of the day. I’ll introduce you to the basics tomorrow.”_

_And with a quick nod she left, walking down the silent hallways and finding her way back to her room in the quiet._

~~~

I peeled open my eyes and looked up, noticing the three faces crowding above me. Suddenly though, before I could say anything to them about the whole incident, I was tackled in a hug by none other than Lucy.

“Oh thank goodness you woke up!” She exclaimed, lifting my body off of the ground and squeezing it tightly, displaying a surprisingly compassionate side I didn’t know she possessed. “We didn’t know what to do.”

“Careful Lucy she could still be dangerous.” Gray cautioned, and Lucy’s face switched, completely flipping as if she was bipolar as she turned to look at him.

“She’s my damn roommate; I think I’d know by now if she were dangerous!” The blond haired woman shouted, and I laughed slightly at her theatrics.

“Please, you hardly know anything about her.” Gray retorted, glancing at me in distrust.

“Yes I do!” Lucy defended.

“Name one thing about her past.” He tested, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

“I know she had a boyfriend.”

“I mean something that matters.” Gray pointed out, earning a shocked gasp from the woman beside me who stood up. I propped myself up on my arms.

“I know all sorts of things about Xandria!” Lucy continued, foam practically frothing at the corners of her mouth. “If you would just-“

“No,” I interjected, a serious expression clouding my features as I looked up at her from my weakened position on the ground. “No Lucy, you don’t. And I’m sorry. You three probably want answers right now, answers that I’m not ready to give yet – answers I _can’t_ give you yet.” I swallowed and continued. “I completely understand if you don’t wish to trust me anymore. I wouldn’t if I was in your situation.

“No Xandria, I still trust you.” Lucy announced, leaning down towards me. “You’re a member of Fairy Tail, you’re family, and just because there’s something that you’re hiding from us doesn’t mean that we’ll care about you any less (as curious as we may be to what it is).” I blinked.

“Lucy, don’t be foolish.” I countered, my shaky voice as weak as I was at the current moment.

“I’m not being foolish.” She huffed. “I’m only trying to tell you that no one is going to go rat you out to anyone because you aren’t a water mage. You haven’t given us any reason to think that you’re a bad person, so why would we do anything like that?”

“You’re too good for your own good.” I muttered, and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m only trying to see the good inside of other people.” She stated, holding out her hand towards me. I reluctantly took it, and with her help I stood from the ground.

“Can’t you see that there’s no good inside of me then?” I hissed, cradling my sore side as I leaned on her. She gave me a surprised look as she took me in.

“You’re wrong Xandria.” Lucy said, allowing me to lean my full weight on her, grunting slightly underneath my slightly larger frame. “You are good; you just don’t know it yet.”

“I still don’t trust her.” Gray grumbled, and I gave him a weak smile from my place beside the blond girl.

“At least someone here is sane.” I mumbled, earning a confused look from the dark haired boy.

“Gray, at least give Xandria a chance.” Natsu piped up, an uncharacteristically serious expression stamped across his boyish face. “I have to agree with Lucy on this one.”

“It’s not like she’s hurting anyone.” Lucy continued, giving Gray a hopeful look, he grunted.

“But if she does…” He trailed off, and a dark look passed over his face. I nodded.

“Of course.” I agreed. “I’ll take full responsibility for my actions.”

“We won’t mention this to anyone, Xandria.” Lucy promised, giving me a genuinely kind-hearted look. “Whatever happened tonight, it’s just between the four of us. Right guys?”

“Yeah.” Natsu agreed. Gray just shrugged.

“You won’t have to worry about me telling anyone.” The droopy eyed boy admitted. “I’m not much of a gossip.”

“T-Thank you.” I breathed, slumping against Lucy. She grunted, trying to catch me with her rather scrawny arms.

“Natsu! Help me with her!” She ordered, and the boy came over, easily scooping my body up. I sighed in relief as I found my weight taken from me by another person.

“I just need to rest.” I explained, my voice becoming strained as I felt the little strength I had recovered draining yet again.

“Take her to her bed.” Lucy ordered, and immediately I felt my body being bounced up and down as he moved towards our house. I allowed my body to completely relax as he carefully opened the door, releasing any thoughts I had from my mind and focusing on the energy that still surged through me.


	6. Chapter 6

"Make the most of the best and the least of the worst"

~~~

I slept through the rest of the night and most of the next day, finally waking up as rosy beams of sunlight began pouring into the room. The deep light danced across my pillow, a few beams brushing gently against my eyelids, and I awoke, inhaling deeply the sweet scent of the room. I lay like that a moment – in that contented place somewhere between dreams, visions of a man I had once loved dancing across my mind, through fields of flowers and into cool streams.

With a resigned sigh I rose and stretched my sore limbs, moving to stand in front of the window. I stuck my head about and stared. Deep oranges and passionate reds were dancing along the horizon, and I watched as the sun descended further beyond the visible area. It was like looking at a painting, one filled with split blood of day, bleeding red until it could be washed clean by the deep bluish purple that was night. I smiled dreamily, and ducked back into the apartment, leaving the window open without a care.

I took a shower, I dried my hair, I used the cleaning charm on Lucy’s clothes, I used it on my clothes, I folded Lucy’s clothes,  I thought about going to the guild, I straightened the bookshelf, I put Lucy’s clothes away, I made Lucy’s bed, I organized her desk, I did the dishes in the kitchen, I made my own bed, I straightened the curtains, I tried lying down on my own bed again, I tried reading a book, I ate some Wizard-Os, . Nothing worked. Nothing could ease my restlessness or anxiety. My mind still raced with thoughts of yesterday’s events. I just couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I drummed my fingers across the wooden table, the hollow sound greeting my ears and causing me to frown.

“You need to practice, you know.” I pointed out, my voice echoing in the small room. “You already saw what happened yesterday. If you don’t start channeling some of that energy, the next time it’s going to be way worse.”

I sighed as a few memories from my childhood resurfaced, several times when I had lost control of the lost magic, resulting in a painful flare up for me. It wasn’t something I liked to think of.

It really wasn’t fair. I had escaped him, I had gotten away from the man that I had once called my father. I had worked _so hard_ to break free, both physically and mentally. And now, because of some stupid magic that he had imposed upon me, it served as simply another reminder that I would never truly be able to escape him. He would always be a part of me, it was, I began to discover, impossible to forget someone as vile as him, someone that had broken me as much as he had.

**~Lucy’s POV~**

I pushed open the door to our apartment and walked in, finding none other than an awake and alert Xandria busying herself by reading one of my favorite books. I flashed her a smile, although I knew she wouldn’t return it, and walked past her, placing my bag on top of the table in our small room.

“Did you go on a job today or something?” She inquired, and I turned around to look at her. She’d fixed me with an almost indifferent gaze, but there was no mistaking the hints of concern in her eyes. “You look pretty torn up.”

“Thanks for the compliment.” I retorted, and sank down into a chair near her bed. Xandria shrugged, giving me a matter-of-fact look, and I sighed. “Actually no, I was planning on going on a job with my team at first but…”

“But what?” She pressed, setting her book down flat on the bed and staring at me with genuine curiosity. I blinked in surprise – she didn’t normally act so interested in how my days went.

“Well… I heard about some dark guild trouble at a trade guild in Acalypha – the one that my dad was planning on working at – so I went to check it out.” I explained.

“What kind of dark guild?” She cut in, obvious concern on her face. I frowned in slight frustration. Why did she _always_ have to miss the point?

“Why does it matter?” I inquired, causing her to throw up another indifferent mask again. Xandria simply shrugged.

“I was just curious.” She stated, and I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, I’ll tell you if you care so much.” I said, “They were called… Naked Mummy. Yeah, the name was Naked Mummy, weird right?” She scrunched up her nose at the name.

“Never heard of ‘em.”

“They weren’t exactly the type you would have.” I told her, trying to hide the amused look from my face as I remembered the funny looking mages. “I ended up easily taking out around fifteen of them – the ones that were holding the trade guild employees hostage. I found my dad afterward; he hadn’t yet come to work at the guild yet.”

“What’s that look for?” Xandria asked me, a frown present on her features, and I let out an overdramatic sigh.

“My dad and I have just had some trouble over the years, so finding out that I fought off a bunch of dark mages for no reason kind of pissed me off.”

“You rescued those people – that’s something.” She pointed out, and I shrugged.

“I guess you’re right.” I admitted, and a long pause passed between us. Suddenly I decided to speak up. “What about your dad?”

I didn’t realize that I shouldn’t have asked her this until it was already too late. She visibly tensed under my words, her skin paling considerably after I spoke.

“I don’t have a dad.” She blurted, her skin ashen as she responded to my question.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I began, scrambling for something appropriate to respond with. I said the first thing that came to mind that might comfort her. “I don’t have a mother. She died when I was little too.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Alexandria said through gritted teeth. “My real father, I-I don’t remember him. I don’t know who he is. I don’t remember my mother either. But the man who took their place, the man who adopted me…” She paused, looking down. “He’s still around, but he deserves to die.”

I looked at her in shock, taken aback by what she had just said to me.

**~Xandria’s POV~**

“What’s this?” Lucy asked, motioning to the large diagram that the entire guild seemed to be gathered around. I stepped towards it, my eyes scanning over the figure, and as soon as my eyes took it in, I realized that I wouldn’t have to ask like Lucy. I already knew half of the names hovering in the air.

“It’s an organization chart of the Dark Guilds.”

“Yes, I drew it.” Reedus added, brandishing the tool he had used with flair.

“When you look at it overall there are quite a lot of them.” Cana mused, examining the chart with apprehension.

“Why do we need to see this?” Someone asked, the fear clear in their tone. I rolled my eyes.

“Because lately it seems like their activity has increased. We have to strengthen the bonds between guilds.” Mirajane explained, and I scoffed, shaking my head. Strengthening the bond between legal guilds could only do so much to combat the Dark Guilds. Especially since the dark guilds had a certain knack for tearing those bonds apart, no matter how strong they may be.

“What’s the big oval?” Gray piped up, motioning to the three large circles contained within an oval on the map.

“Juvia knows. It is the Balam Alliance.” The water woman announced, and I looked her over with a newfound interest. “The Balam Alliance is the most powerful force of Dark Guilds, combining the three guilds of Oracion Seis, Tartaros, and Grimiore Heart. Each of them have a number of associated guilds, and they control the world of Dark Guilds. Then there’s the guild that acts independently of the rest, Raven’s Tail.” I nodded, surprised by her knowledge of the Dark Guilds.

“Huh?” Lucy exclaimed, her face filling with sudden recognition. She pointed to a small spot on the diagram, reading off the name of a guild. “Eisenwald?”

“Yes, that’s the guild that Erigor was in.” Erza confirmed, and I crossed my arms. I had never heard of it.

“So that was one of the guilds associated with Oracion Seis, huh?”

“There’s a lot of names that I remember up there…” Wakaba mused.

“Aren’t there some guilds that used to be official guilds too?” Another man, whose name I believed to be Macao pointed out.

“Ghoul Spirits, the one that the Thunder God Tribe destroyed, was also one of them.” Mirajane stated.

“And the guild Juvia and Gajeel destroyed when we were in Phantom were all from Oracion Seis!” Juvia exclaimed with a wide grin on her face. She was talking in third person again, as usual.

“Please don’t go smiling about it…” Gray trailed off, edging slightly away from the woman. I ignored the two of them and focused on the matter at hand, trying to pay attention to the chart again. But it was hard for me.

“Uh-oh, I hope they’re not angry…” Lucy mumbled, and I could see her body beginning to tremble. I frowned, surprised by her uncharacteristic cowardice.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it! There’s nothing to fear!” Wakaba reassured, halfway grinning at the young blond girl with his pipe still stuck in the corner of his mouth. “From the rumors I hear they’ve only got six members!”

“Damn, how small a guild is it?”

“But even with only six people, they’re a member of the strongest organization.” Mirajane reminded them, and I had to respect her for recognizing the Dark Guild’s strength.

“About that Oracion Seis.” A sudden voice rumbled, and we all turned, noticing the master’s sudden appearance. “We’re going to attack them.” My mouth fell open as I stared at him, and several of the guild members beside me simply fell over in shock.

“Master, what are you talking about?” Erza demanded, stepping forward from the group of stunned Fairy Tail members.

“At the regular meeting the other day, we discussed the recent activity by Oracion Seis. As it is not something we can ignore, we decided that some guild has to fight them.” Our guild master explained.

“You pulled the short straw again Gramps?” Gray inquired, shaking his head in disbelief.

“And Fairy Tail will take on that role?” Juvia breathed.

“No… The enemy this time is to powerful. If it were only us then afterwards the Baram Alliance would retaliate only here.” The elder man continued, and I tensed thinking of what that could mean for Fairy Tail. “And that is why we have formed an alliance ourselves.”

“An alliance?”

“Fairy Tail! Blue Pegasus! Lamia Scale! Cait Shelter! These four guilds will send out members to strike these guys down.”

“But we could handle it ourselves, no problem!” Natsu exclaimed, a wide grin on his face as he addressed the master. “Or actually, I could handle it myself!” I scowled at him.

“Fool! The master is thinking about the consequences afterwards!” Erza and I shouted at the same time, both of us jumping at the pink haired boy in anger.

“So… Wait a second…” Lucy blurted, looking at everyone in disbelief, I crossed my arms and met her gaze. “The enemy only has six members right? How crazy powerful are these people then?”

“Oracion Seis is an exceptionally strong Dark Guild.” I began, and the eyes of many of my guild mates fell on me. “As a member of the Balam Alliance, Oracion Seis possess incredible Magic power at its disposal; every single member is strong enough to take down an entire guild on their own.” I paused, making sure that I had caught their attention. “That being said, they still can’t hold a flame to Grimiore Heart, the strongest and most corrupt Dark Guild in existence. Grimiore Heart with its top level mages, the eight kin of-“ I stopped myself, freezing midsentence. “I mean the seven, just the seven kin of purgatory. With these formidable mages, they are capable of destroying entire cities.”

“Are you serious?” Lucy squeaked, her face turning a similar shade to paper.

“Alexandria does not lie.” The guild master announced, and I turned my head, remembering the small man behind me. He narrowed his eyes at me however. “But thankfully we only have to worry about combating the Oracion Seis for now.” I nodded.

“With the combined forces of the four guilds we should be strong enough to defeat the Dark Guild, but it’s still important to be careful.” I added.

~~~

The master had ended up choosing the usual team of Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and Erza to serve as Fairy Tail’s portion of the alliance. I was slightly surprised that he hadn’t wanted someone like Gajeel to go along, but the older man stated that it would be best if we had a team that worked together well without having any conflict. He didn’t exactly know how the iron man would react to being bossed around by Natsu in the midst of a battle, so I guess I could kind of see where he was coming from.

And I didn’t mind, I would only be missing Lucy and the others for a single day, which meant I wouldn’t have to deal with any of them or their wild tactics for the time being. So, I decided that instead of taking a job like I should have, or visiting the guild to simply work on my social skills some more (there was always room for improvement), that I would spend the day relaxing at home. I would read, nap, relax, maybe order something to eat if I felt like it. I didn’t feel like attempting to cook, if I accidently burnt the house down while Lucy was gone, she’d murder me when she got back.

So I wasted the day away, enjoying myself and the private time for the first time in a while.

~~~

“You enjoying that ramen?” I inquired, scowling as the woman across the table from me continued hastily scarfing down her dish. She paused, swallowing her food and moving away from the bowl.

“I’m sure you would be enjoying your own, but it seems as if they’ve forgotten all about you.” She stated, a grin making its way onto her face as she looked at me. I huffed and slid further down into my seat.

“Shut up and eat your food Levy.” I grumbled, watching as she further slid to bowl towards me.

“What? I was only trying to be a good friend and wait to eat until your dish arrived.” She explained. “But it seems as if you _want_ to see me stuff my face with all kinds of delicious home cooked goodness.”

“I’m done talking to you.”

“Suit yourself.” She said with a shrug, beginning to dig back into her meal. I let out a hiss of annoyance and glanced around, checking to see if anyone was nearby with my food. They weren’t. And my impatient nature wasn’t helping anything.

“What the hell is taking them so long?” I exclaimed as the veins in my forehead flexed. Levy sighed from her position across the table, and I glanced back at her, noticing as she shook her head.

“How are you ever going to go on a date, Xandria?” She questioned, shaking her head at me as if I were some kind of helpless case (which truthfully I was). I crossed my arms defensively.

“So what if I’m a little impatient?”

“And rude – oh _and_ impulsive.” Levy pointed out, smiling faintly.

“I like to think of myself as determined.” I stated dryly, earning a light laugh from the girl. “Besides, who needs guys when I’ve got friends like you?”

“Obviously not us.”

“Clearly not us.” I agreed, and we both laughed, the mood at our table lightening considerably.

~~~

“Um… It’s already been a week since I came to Fairy Tail. So I was thinking I should do my first job pretty soon…” Wendy began, looking down as she told us what she was thinking.

“Then come with team Shadow Gear!” Levy announced proudly.

“If you’re going to, then how about with us?” Lucy prompted.

“Please, if she’s going on a job then the person she wants to go with is obviously me.” I cut in, stepping between Lucy and Levy with a smirk plastered onto my face. They both turned to me, angry expressions on their faces.

“But she doesn’t even know you!” Lucy exclaimed, a flash of rage taking over her features as she looked at me. I glared at her.

“Yes she does! I met her last week when she first came to the guild!” I countered.

“Why don’t you take turns then?” Mirajane offered, causing the two of us to break apart.

“Sure!” Lucy agreed.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Levy said, and I shrugged.

“Why not?”

“Then...” Levy added, a thoughtful expression taking over her doll-like face. “Who goes first?”

“Hmmm….” Wendy mumbled, thinking it over, when suddenly, loud voices from the other side of the room drew our attention away.

“Natsu!” Gray commanded, stepping towards the dragon slayer and causing him to look up.

“Hm? What is it?”

“Gray…” Elfman stated. “Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen you for the past few days.”

“Gray my love, what’s the matter?” Juvia inquired, but the young man brushed both of them off, keeping his attention focused only on the pink haired boy.

“I heard a crazy story, Natsu.” Gray stated, a dark look passing over his face. I frowned

“What?”

“Somebody outside the city says she’s seen a dragon.” The black haired boy drawled, and Natsu’s eyes widened in shock.

“Dragon?” He echoed, standing up from his seat at the bar. “Is it Igneel?”

“I don’t know those details.” Gray admitted.

“Did you meet the person who saw the dragon?” Natsu pressed, stepping forward to look the other man in the eye. But Gray only shook his head.

“No. I just heard the rumors going around town. Someone named ‘Daphne’ talks like she knows all about dragons. It’s not just that she’s seen one. It sounds like she’s actually _met_ one recently.” The ice mage said, looking at the other boy earnestly.

“Really? That’s the truth right?” Natsu pressed, his impulsive personality reflective in every aspect of his decisions, even as he thought them out.

“It might pay to find out for sure.” Gray advised, and the dragon slayer nodded.

“Where is she?” Happy piped up, and Gray glanced towards the cat.

“In the wilderness to the west at an inn named ‘Rise’.” He answered.

“All right! Let’s go Happy!”

“Aye sir!”

“I’ll go too! That dragon might be Grandine!” Wendy spoke up, and I turned, casting the girl in front of me a surprised glance. But I let it go. As long as she was with a powerful mage like Natsu, she should be fine.

“Then let’s check it out.” Natsu agreed, but paused, casting a final glance over his shoulder in the direction of the only dragon slayer who hadn’t spoken up yet. ”You comin’ too?”

“No way. It’s obviously a sham.” Gajeel grunted, not bothering to look up from his position at the bar. I pursed my lips.

“How can you know that?” Natsu questioned, crossing his arms as he looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer.

“And how many times have you said that and gotten tricked?” The other man countered. “Stories about dragons are for luring people. You’re being used. Try learning a little.”

“You want to see yours too right? You want to see Metalicanna?” The pink haired boy pressed, using a last resort.

“And then what? He just disappeared without saying nothing. I don’t care one bit!” Gajeel spat, shoving another piece of metal into his mouth and abruptly ending the conversation between him and Natsu.

“Well, he’s like that but he really misses him.” Lucy leaned over and whispered to Levy and I.

“I think so too.” Levy agreed.

“Gajeel’s all sunshine and rainbows on the inside.” I added with a grin, causing the two girls beside me to shove their fists in their mouth in an attempt to stifle their laughter.

“Let’s go Wendy.” Natsu announced, and then paused, turning back around to face the ice mage. “Thanks for the decent tip.”

“My pleasure.”

And with that the two dragon slayers and their cats left, leaving everyone in the guild behind to stare after them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a super long chapter that I think you guys will really like! Love you all so much and thanks for reading, it honestly means so much to me. Happy Holidays!

"Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye."

~~~

As usual, Natsu didn’t show up on time. Part of it was probably the fact that he’d heard rumors of dragons, and with that strong will of his there was no way that he was going to leave any stone unturned. I didn’t blame him either. If there were any way that I might’ve been able to find my real parents I would’ve gladly done it.

“He’s late!” Erza barked. “What is Natsu doing? He should have returned by now!”

“He only went to ask about dragons after all.” Lucy continued with a worried expression on her face. “Definitely taking to long for that.”

“Exactly, Lucy. He went to find out about _dragons_. It’s no wonder that it’s taking Natsu so long.” I retorted with a frown.

“He’s probably just taking his time is all.” Macao offered

“No, he had Wendy with him, so it’s strange for him to be this late.” Mirajane added. “Even if he would’ve found something substantial he wouldn’t have brought Wendy into it.”

“It ain’t like Natsu. Draggin’ a little girl around town all night ain’t manly!” Her brother Elfman exclaimed.

“I’m also worried about the thing that suddenly attacked me today.” Erza stated, hinting at her earlier attack that day – which I was still rather skeptical of. “What if it also attacked Natsu and Wendy?”

“Juvia is worried about Gray! Juvia feels unease in her heart, wondering if something has happened to him!”

“And I think you’re just worrying too much. He might’ve just gone straight home.” Macao jeered. Juvia’s face contorted in rage.

“The intuition of a woman in love is never wrong!” Juvia shouted, her eyes flashing as she glared at the man.

“Right, sure! Don’t look at me like that!” Macao exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. “Don’t take it so seriously!”

“We’ll go search for him!” Erza announced, and I snapped my head around to stare at her, my features hardening. “Lucy come with me!”

“Okay.” The blond girl agreed, stepping towards the armored mage.

“Juvia will come as well.”

“Take me with you.” Elfman volunteered.

“No, I want you all to stand by here at the guild. We don’t want to leave the guild short-handed.” Erza explained. I – of course – ignored her.

“I’m coming.” I announced, and before she could protest I spoke again. “And you can’t stop me. There’s plenty of mages back here at the guild to deal with a threat if something happens. Taking me along won’t hurt anything.”

“Fine, I’ll let you tag along.” She growled. “But if you get in the way so help me I will…”

“I know. I won’t get in your way.” I reassured. “The point of me coming with you would be to help you, after all.”

She gave me a withering look but seemed to let the matter go. And with a final flash of her sword, she marched out of the Fairy Tail building and into the dark streets of Magnolia. Lucy and I were left with no other option but to follow suit.

We didn’t speak as we went – Erza was too preoccupied with her own thoughts to listen to any of our own, so Lucy and I simply exchanged glances along the trip and nothing more. In a sense it was almost peaceful, considering how beautiful Magnolia could be at night – the three of us traipsing along the cobblestoned streets, cutting through alleys, and crossing through some of the innumerable parks. I certainly enjoyed the companionship, and Erza and Lucy were growing on me (regardless of how frustrating they could both be at times).

However, whatever peace I had managed to find within the moment was immediately dispelled when Erza brought our little caravan to an abrupt stop in the middle of nowhere. She wasn’t the one who spoke first, though.

“This was the inn Gray was talking about should have been around here…” Lucy trailed off in annoyance, and I looked around. There was nothing, and when I say nothing I mean _nothing at all._ The landscape was empty and barren – the only scenery it contained were the faces of towering rocks and the dusty kisses of dirt at our feet. It was a stark contrast to the luscious town we had travelled from.

“Gray was obviously lying. The only thing around here is dirt.” I grumbled, leaning down to examine the ground. “And lots of it.”

“Be careful.” Erza’s voice suddenly warned, and I was stunned by the amount of caution it contained. “I can smell a beast.”

I rose from my crouched position – intending to fix her with a confused stare, but before I could an eerily green magic circle appeared at our right; from it came a large hooded figure that rose from the ground. I wrinkled my nose, the stench of this ‘beast’ hitting me with a strong force.

“W-what _is_ that thing?” Lucy stammered.

Erza reequipped her armor before she even bothered to explain. “The sneak-attacker. I had a feeling it would show up. Lucy, Xandria, stand back.”

“Be careful.” Lucy called as the gladiator surged forward, charging at the enemy with her duel blades.

“What is your purpose? Did you also attack Natsu and Wendy?” She demanded between strikes, shouting at the cloaked figure in a violent rage. However, it did not respond – which only sent her further into a wild fury. Erza hissed and spat, cursing the creature as they sparred. I was enthralled – this woman certainly was something magnificent. I’d never seen someone as powerful as she during my brief time at the guild, or perhaps I just hadn’t had the opportunity yet. Either way, she was the sight – all courage and fire and grace. It was awe-inspiring just to watch her battle, and even now I knew that she was hardly displaying her full strength. Titania was surely a sight to behold.

It wasn’t until she cut away the attacker’s hood that I took my attention off of her.

Lucy and I both gasped as we saw the true form of the creature as it was revealed. A tall, greenish humanoid stood in front of Erza, the skin of its narrow snout pulled back in a snarl to reveal an exceptionally sharp set of teeth. My eyes widened as I noticed its thick outer layer of slimy skin, the lizard-like creature sporting a layer of scales on its forearms as a form of protection from its opponent’s attacks.

“Erza!” Lucy exclaimed as she pulled her ring of celestial keys from its spot at her hip. Removing a golden one she lifted it above her head, “Gait of the Maiden I open thee! Virgo!” But before I could witness the spirit appear, another one of the creatures rose from the ground, lunging towards the blond girl.

The scream left my throat before I could stop it, and I left the ground before I even knew what I was doing. I dove in front of Lucy, tackling the beast and throwing us both backwards. We collided with the hard dirt ground, and I rolled to the side in a vain attempt to shield myself from any immediate attacks. The creature rose before I did, and as soon as I was back on my feet and ready to fight it sunk back into the ground.

Within seconds the lizard-like creature returned from the earth; however it had changed from its former appearance. It possessed a slightly larger stature and a new purple cloth that draped across its body. It was painfully obvious that this creature was mimicking me. I scowled and shifted into a defensive position. The creature copied me and moved its body in the same way.

“Use your magic, Xandria!” Lucy’s strained voice cried from a few yards away.

The creature lunged towards me, aiming a simple blow at me with its sharp claws. I moved to the side, easily dodging. If it wished to hash this out fist to fist then so be it.

“Stella pugno!” I shouted, and my hands were consequently drowned in the familiar white rune circles, that gave way to the familiar dark aubergine hue. The dark substance flowed along my palms in an almost fluid motion, and I could feel the strength – the power that it gave me. It was like being consumed by a flame, yet it stung like ice. My magic was cold – like the space it had come from.

Lunging forward towards the lizard like creature, I swung my arm, but the beast somehow managed to leap out of the way. I pulled back, eyeing it cautiously as two glowing black lights encased its fists, mimicking my own.

“How are you copying me?” I muttered, and increased the power of the spell, causing the dark tendrils of magic to creep up my arms, almost reaching my elbows as I further enhanced their power. The creature did the same, edging closer to me. I scowled at it, and released the spell, my arms losing their former strength. However the creature did not mimic me, and instead and leapt forward towards me, fists ablaze as it punched me square in the abdomen.

I grunted as it threw me backwards, causing me to land in an unceremonious heap on the hard earth.

“Do you really want to fight me?” I growled as I rose, and I noticed the approach of the creature as it prepared to strike thrice. My temper flared. “Fine then.”

“Illustraret!” I exclaimed, thrusting my palms forward in the direction of my enemy, and suddenly a bright white light burst forth from my hands, blinding the creature.

It was a distraction, obviously, but all the same it worked well enough to buy me an opening of time. I took my chance and sprinted forward towards the dazed beast. Before it could do anything, I brought my elbow down, smashing it on the creature’s head. I could hear the bone – or whatever sort of skeleton it possessed – cracking from the force of my blow. Its eyes rolled backwards, and the lizard fell over, its body crashing onto the dirt covered ground.

I lowered my hands and took several deep breaths as I stared at the creature that had dared to mock me. Turning around to where Lucy had once been, I saw her, now standing surprised beside Erza, who had a mildly interested look on her face (or maybe she was just constipated). I walked over to where they stood, brushing off the dirt that had accumulated on me from being thrown to the ground.

“Well, what’s next-“ I began, but a loud rumbling noise coming from our right cut me off. We all turned, and our faces drained of color as we saw the dragon-like beast that appeared from seemingly out of nowhere.

“Yes, yes, yes! Lift concealment magic! Lacrima core, stand by for operation! Unlock all joints! Neurotransmission lacrima sensitivity, all green! All impurities other than Salamander get out already! Yes, yes, yes! Now, begin absorption of Salamander’s magic power. Dragonoid… activate!” An automated voice screamed, as the beast towered above us, spreading its wings in formidability. I barely caught any of it.

“Dragonoid?” Erza echoed, staring at the creature in shock. “Absorb Salamander’s magic power?”

“Natsu!” Lucy screamed, running forward towards the dragon, but I ran after her, grabbing her shirt collar and yanking her back. She turned around to protest, but before she could even get a single word out of her mouth, a loud roar erupted from the behemoth behind us. I let out a hiss of pain, covering my ears from the blistering sound.

“It’s so loud!” Lucy shrieked, clawing at the side of her head in an attempt to escape the noise.

“Yes, yes, yes! Things are starting off quite well. Take a look! This is the artificial dragon I invented! I call it a Dragonoid! I’m taking Salamander’s magic power and unveiling it for all to see!” The same upbeat, automated voice projected down to us. I scowled as I noticed the woman sitting in the front of the dragon, where the eyes should have been. She was the one controlling this creature - she was the one who had captured Natsu, and was now beginning to terrorize all of us.

“Lucy! Erza! Xandria!” A young voice called out from our left, and we all turned, noticing the young girl and two cats approaching us. I blinked, a smile flashing across my face when I saw Wendy. At least she was safe.

“It’s you!” Lucy breathed.

“Wendy! You’re safe!” I exclaimed, meeting the girl halfway and embracing her. I was worried, and it should’ve been expected. If there was one thing I hated to see, it was innocent children being dragged into an adult’s war.

“We’re in big trouble!” Wendy blurted, looking up at us with anxious sable eyes.

“What in the world is happening?” Erza demanded, crossing her arms as she stared down at the blue haired child. “Where’s Natsu?”

“He’s been captured!” Happy told us as his wings hastily beat against the chilled night air. “Gray joined forces with this Daphne person to set a trap for Natsu.”

“He did?”

“Gray’s not being controlled.” Wendy continued. “She said it was of his own free will. We don’t really understand ourselves.” Erza looked upwards to the dragon, and I followed her gaze. However I was shocked by the sudden appearance of the ice mage, watching as Gray leapt from the dragon and onto a nearby boulder.

Erza noticed him as well, and narrowed her eyes in rage. “Gray! If you’ve really betrayed Fairy Tail, then you must have some reason.”

Gray only shrugged, casually moving his shoulders up and down in a display of indifference. “No reason. Nothing like that.”

“What?”

I scowled at Gray, a dark look of intolerance flickering across my features. “Well damn – that’s cold even for an ice bastard like you.”

“How dare you-“

“How dare _I_? Wow! That’s pretty rich coming from someone who’s just betrayed his whole guild.” I retorted, and Gray’s eyes flashed in rage. “Listen up asshole; I don’t give a fuck about how long you’ve been a member of Fairy Tail, and honestly, I don’t really give a fuck about you at all. But if you’re going to betray everyone _my_ guild like this, then you better believe that I’m going to have to get involved. It’s nothing personal, sweetheart, strictly business.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” The automated voice continued, ignoring my minor confrontation with Gray. “And now, all my research has come to fruition, and I have completed my Dragonoid!” There was a breathy pause as the character’s voice darkened slightly. “ _Shouldn’t you people be singing my praises or something_?”

“Is that the voice of this Daphne person?” Erza questioned, stepping forward and brandishing her sword in the moonlight. “Give us Natsu back this instant!”

“Sorry but no can do.” Daphne crooned. “I’m sure you realize that my Dragonoid here moves by sucking out Natsu Dragneel’s magic power. Until I’ve sucked out all that magic power, I ain’t giving Natsu Dragneel back!”

“To a wizard, one’s magic power is their very life!” Erza exclaimed, and I turned my attention back to the dragon.

“Give back Natsu now!”

“You want to get in her way? Just try it. Although, even with your powers combined, I highly doubt you can hold out long enough to see it fully charged.” Gray interjected, a smirk plastered across his pasty face. I narrowed my eyes.

 “I’ve heard of a dangerous, dragon-crazed wizard who was trying to create an artificial dragon…” The white cat, Wendy’s companion, trailed off.

“Is that you?” Wendy inquired, and a dark chuckle rang out from the loud speaker that was projecting the woman’s voice.

“Such slanderous rumors, so far from the truth. They should say ‘the _genius_ scientist Daphne succeeded in creating an artificial dragon.’ It was truly a long struggle for me to perfect it. It all started with the first step: Successfully hatching an artificial dragon from an egg. The city I lived in was the perfect place to gather data, or so I thought. But the people who come from my city can all use Hidden magic, see. Unable to experiment on the city, I had no more use for it. As punishment, I made it so they could not dispel their Hidden. I also punished the incomplete dragons who were unable to sense the people who had vanished with their Hidden. After that I left the city. Ever since then, it became known as ‘The City Without Sound.’ I continued my research and finally it dawned on me. I needed the power of a dragon slayer to activate the Dragonoid.” She paused, and I could almost make out the crazed grin coming to fruition on her face. “Yes, yes, yes. Natsu Dragneel! Salamander! Keep working until you drop dead! For me, and my evil ambitions. Get fired up!”

“You fiend!” Erza growled, waving an angry fist in the direction of the creature and its master. “What are you planning to do by creating such a thing?”

“Yes, yes, yes! My ambition is to create the perfect Dragonoid. Even this is nothing more than a prototype.” The automated voice explained, and I frowned slightly. “First up we have to test its current ability! Test! Lower half’s mobility is sub-par, I see. Yes, yes. Walking is impossible, say?”

And suddenly the two enormous legs of the dragon-like creature began moving, both of them slamming forward without the slightest bit of grace in their strained mechanical movements. We had to break into a run just to avoid its feet.

“She’s trouble, she’s _really_ big trouble.” Lucy squeaked, dodging the feet of the monster along with the rest of our companions.

“Ooh, I know! She’s what they call a mad scientist!” Happy cut in, but I shoved the cat away in an attempt to ignore him. I was not in a joking mood, and I didn’t need some comic relief screwing with my head at the moment.

“We must stop it somehow, but…” Erza trailed off, her eyes raking over the dragon in an attempt to come up with some sort of plan.

“With Natsu inside we can’t just attack carelessly!” Wendy exclaimed, but I shook my head.

“Natsu will be fine if we can manage to take down the dragon.” I pointed out. “I’m sure Daphne took precautions to save her precious power source in case the Dragonoid ended up malfunctioning. Besides, would you rather have Natsu bumped and bruised because of us, or dead because he had all of his magical power drained?”

Before I could say anything else however, the loud buzz of an engine filled my ears, cutting me off and causing all of us to look in the direction of the peculiar sound. I blinked as I noticed a small vehicle approach, with two men inside, and a third, much larger one standing on the top.

And, as soon as they had appeared they were beside us, slowing down the small car as they allowed Elfman to leap off the roof of the vehicle. He lunged towards the unprepared Gray, aiming a strong blow at the betrayer’s stomach and knocking Gray out with simple blunt force.

“These are the master’s orders, Gray.” Elfman said as he lifted our dark haired guild mate off of the ground.

“Yeah, looks like the master got word of Daphne.” Wakaba chimed in from his place against the stalled vehicle. I crossed my arms as I examined the man and his partner.

“He decided to ask Gray how to get rid of that giant thing.” Macoa added, jerking his thumb in the direction of the dragon.

Suddenly, however, our conversation was cut short as the mechanical beast spread its leathery wings to their full span, beating them with a vengeance and stirring up a respectable amount of dust as it began to rise from the ground. A loud roar erupted from the Dragonoid’s mouth as it lifted itself farther upwards into the dark night sky, and I scowled. It had no right to take its place among the stars like that, not a creature as vile and artificial as the Dragonoid.

“Oh, no… It’s heading straight for Magnolia!” Lucy shouted, and I craned my neck, watching as the dragon shifted its course of flight to head in the direction of the city. I clenched my fists.

Erza stiffened before she spoke. “How dare she… Lucy and the rest of you return to the guild and get everyone mobilized. We’ll protect Magnolia, everyone.”

“But what would happen to…?” The blond girl trailed off.

“I will stop that Dragonoid!” She cried, raising her sword as she stared after the departing Dragonoid. She was so courageous and so pure. She would’ve died for her comrades without a second thought.

I set my jaw and stepped forward. “As will I.” Erza only narrowed her eyes.

“No, I won’t have you coming along with me, it’s too dangerous.”

“It’s perfect then,”

The muscle in Erza’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t a joking matter, Alexandria.”

“I never said it was, Erza.” I answered evenly, my voice firm in its resolve. “I’m going along with you to take out that mechanical beast that Daphne made, and there’s nothing that you can do stop me.”

“Yes there is.” She stated, brandishing her weapon as she glared at me. I almost laughed.

“Oh look at me – I positively terrified. Seriously Erza, put that thing away – we both know you aren’t going to use it.” I teased, and Erza flushed in outrage.

“Don’t you dare-“

I folded my arms “We are comrades, Erza. We both have the same goal in mind – to save Natsu and to protect the city. I pose no serious threat to you, and I’m only doing this because I want to help you.”

“You’re a stubborn ass.” She grunted, however I could see the will to argue with me fade from her eyes.

“Oh please, Erza. There’s no reason to flatter me.”

“If you get injured while you’re trying to show me up tonight, don’t expect me to pity you. It’s your own fault.”

“I wouldn’t want to be pitied.” I said with a shrug. And with that we both dropped the matter, preparing ourselves for the battle ahead.

We managed to catch up with the Dragonoid, and with the help of our fellow guild mates we made our way atop the giant beast. Already we'd fought Lizard after Lizard, and yet still more were coming. All the while Daphne was cackling, and sending more of her creations after us.

“Yes, yes, yes! But can you handle this? I’ve made sure to take careful records of the previous battle’s data. You’ll soon find out the power of my Lizardmen version 2.5, Erza Scarlet!” Daphne shouted, her maniacal voice cackling madly with laughter after she finished her announcement. My face hardened in rage, however, as I took in the army of artificially created creatures before us, each one of them wielding Erza’s weaponry and armor. I shifted my stance, preparing to fight alongside my guildmate, when suddenly, an authoritative voice caught my attention.

“This is my fight, Alexandria.” Erza stated and brandished her sword with a distinctive menace. “If Daphne wishes to test my strength – then let her go right ahead. Her toys are no match for me. You go ahead and see if you can stop this thing.”

“Oooh! Yes, yes, yes! There’s another mage!” Daphne’s electronic voice crackled in as she meticulously observed me – obviously paying me little heed before now. “Now who are you? I’ve never seen someone like you before. You must be new to Fairy Tail then. I saw you fighting my Lizardman, you seemed strong enough, but all you did was manipulate my pet. I doubt you truly know what you’re doing with your magic.”

In a way she was right, I didn’t really know what I was doing with my magic at the moment. It was obvious to me that my strength was still lacking from going so long without flexing my wizardly muscles. I’d lost some of my touch, and I’d have to be careful as I got back into the swing of things. I knew I needed to be careful when it came to exactly _how_ much magic I was using – at my current state it seemed as though my magic energy was constantly fluctuating from dramatic highs and lows. I’d stabilize everything soon enough, though. It wouldn’t take long for me to get back into practice, but for now I’d need to be careful not to overexert myself – my magic was chaotic enough as it was.

“Don’t listen to her, Xandria.” Erza snapped, placing a hand on my shoulder. “She’s only trying to make you angry. You have to ignore her.” I grunted, shoving the hand off of my shoulder as I stepped towards the source of the noise.

“I’m only telling the truth!” The loudspeaker chimed in, suddenly erupting into a series of cackles. “This witch doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing!”

I positively seethed.

“Enough of your stalling, Daphne! If darkness and destruction is what you desire, then you had better prepare yourself.” I roared, a dark look crossing my face. “Because I’m coming.”

“Yes, yes, yes! What an interesting proposal. Let’s see if you can live up to your promises.”

“I won’t let you touch Fairy Tail!” I shouted, and suddenly the Lizardmen leapt forward, charging at Erza and I with no emotion.

“Go!” Erza screamed, jumping to my side and blocking the attacks of the oncoming creatures. I nodded, and ran forward, my feet carrying me up the slight incline of the Dragonoid’s back.

I grunted as the creature swayed back and forth underneath me, and I tried to keep my footing. Glancing down, I could see the proud city of Magnolia underneath us, and I hissed in annoyance, increasing my speed. There was no way I could take out an entire dragon on my own, but this was no dragon. If I could reach the head of the beast where Daphne was controlling it – I’d be able to stop it.

I was three quarters up the creature when suddenly it lurched, dropping a least a story in the night sky. I grunted and slid to the side, clawing at the scales of the beast and trying to find some kind of traction. I somehow managed to stop myself, only falling back a few feet.

“Natsu Dragneel’s power’s grown higher than my data! At this rate my Dragonoid will go into overdrive! Yes, yes, yes! At times like these, if I calmly and meticulously keep sucking up your magic power at a reasonable pace, then A-OK. Yes, yes, excellent work. Thank you for the lovely magic power!” Daphne chattered, and the vein in my forehead flexed as the dragon was returned back to its appropriate flying position in the sky.

I got back to my feet, running forward again and up the creature’s scaly back. I passed the furiously beating wings, and scampered farther upward, the mechanical dragon’s head now only a few feet away. I grunted, and pushed myself – farther – just a bit farther.

And suddenly I crashed downwards, the creature’s body turning itself upright as it landed on the hard ground in the middle of the town. I gasped as I felt myself being flung backwards, my unsteady legs being of no help to me. I grunted in pain as I landed with a harsh thud against the top of the creature’s leathery wing.

There was a loud roar that came from the dragon, and I forced my body to stand, noticing the few yards still remaining from me and the top of the creature. I scowled, and moved my body to the side, gripping onto one of the many spikes that stuck out from the Dragonoid’s spine. I reached upwards, grabbing the next and hauling myself upwards, then the next, and the next, until finally I had reached the nape of the creature’s neck.

I grunted and pushed myself upwards, somehow managing to clamber onto the top of the mechanical dragon’s flat head. I drew myself to my full height, and glared down at the thick skin underneath me.

“Daphne!” I shouted, “Enough of this madness!”

“Oh you’re still here?” She cackled, her voice turning sour as she addressed me from within her mechanical Dragon. “Oh well, it doesn’t matter anyway. My Lizardmen v 3.1 have already been released, and I’ve almost fully absorbed all of Natsu Dragneel’s power. There’s nothing someone like you can do to-”

“I said _enough_!” I roared, cutting her off. “I’m done allowing you to terrorize Fairy Tail and attack Magnolia like this! You have no right to destroy this town as you are. You’re nothing more than a weak, pitiful excuse for a human being, and you deserve judgment, something that I would be glad to bring down upon you.”

“Alexandria!” A disembodied voice from far below shouted, and I looked down, noticing Erza staring up at me from her position on the ground. Along with her was the rest of Fairy Tail, excluding Natsu. Confusion flickered across my features, however I let it go and focused on the task at hand.

“Move back everyone!” I shouted, and the terrified members of my guild scattered, each one of them backing away from the Dragonoid and I who stood atop it.

“Alexandria what are you going to-“ Erza called, but I ignored her, and planted my feet. I moved my arms in front of me, dropping both of them towards the head of the beast as I prepared to cast the incantation.

“Wait…” Daphne trailed off. “What do you think you’re-“

But before she could finish her sentence, the white magic circle covered the space around me, and I was incased in an otherworldly glow, my body illuminated in the thick white light. With one final breath, I glanced upwards, my eyes finding a source of comfort in the mysterious night sky. The stars twinkled above me, their mischievous grins meeting my eyes as I looked to them for power, and I let it all flood back in, my past, everyone; _everything_.

My eyes dilated, my heart froze, and everything just… stopped.

“Columna lucis caelestis!” I screamed.

And just like that, the entire world came tumbling down around me.

As soon as the words left my mouth, the beam of black light came bursting forth from my body, shooting out from both of my hands and spreading out into a wide circle as it reached the head of the mechanical creature. I channeled the power through myself, through the lacrima that was implanted inside of me, draining every one of my resources as I blasted the magic at the source of power that was controlling the Dragonoid.

And, as I expected, the thick skin and strong metal that connected the head to the rest of the body were ripped away by my spell causing the head, Daphne, and I as well to come crashing towards the ground. I braced myself as I fell what seemed like a story, and I landed on top of the destroyed head with a loud thud and a sharp pain in my side. Underneath me, I doubted that Daphne fared any better.

With a loud crash, the Dragonoid’s body behind us fell, and I grunted, forcing myself to stand upright.

My breath was heavy as I used the last of my energy to pick away the ruined shell that had once been the dragon’s head. Digging through the rubble, I found the smashed shell that had made up the eye of the creature, and still help a limp Daphne. My throat tightened as I saw her, and fear gripped me for a hollow moment. I swallowed and roughly grabbed her under the armpits and tugged her body out from the rubble. I checked over her, and was pleased to find that the woman was still breathing (quite raggedly, though). The only thing noticeably wrong with her, aside from the blood that covered parts of her body, was the fact that her arm hung at a very peculiar angle. I grunted and lifted her onto my back, her weight causing my weakened body to wilt. I'd barely taken three steps before I stumbled. I sighed in defeat as she laid there on top of me, my torn clothes becoming stained in the woman’s blood.

“Do you need some help, girl?” A gruff voice called out to me, and I glanced upwards through the thick smoke, barely able to make out the figure moving towards me. “I certainly wouldn’t think that you’d need help, not with the way you handled that 'dragon'. Not even Natsu could’ve done something like that. Although…” The character paused, grinning at me as he came into my view. I blinked, noticing the none other than the iron man Gajeel standing above me. “I do wish you would’ve done a better job on the body. Maybe bust the fire dragon slayer up once and for all.”

I felt her weight being lifted off of me, and I sighed in relief. He tossed the woman over his shoulder (with an absolutely _stunning_ lack of grace) and then opted to hold out a helping hand to me. I gave him a grateful smile and gripped his hand. He pulled my upward, and I stood shakily – I was overexerted and still in vague shock (what did you expect?).

“Thanks, Gajeel,” I said, and I really meant it. He gave me an appreciative nod, and I moved to brush myself off. I was practically caked in dust and scratches. The fall had certainly roughed me up a bit, I even had a gash on my side from where a metal plate had caught me, tearing my clothes as well. I glanced down at my torn clothing in disdain. However my eyes moved to my thigh, fixing on something that lay there.

He noticed at the same time I did.

“What the hell!” Gajeel blurted, dropping Daphne in utter shock. I turned grey. “Why the hell do you have this on your body?” He reached down and grabbed my thigh, his fingers digging in soft skin that surrounded the black mark.

He’d seen it. He’d seen my former guild mark. After all my attempts to hide it – to cover it up, someone had ended up seeing it anyway.

I felt like I was going to be sick.

Gajeel was as persistent as ever though. “Answer me!” He snarled.

“Stop your shouting!” I hissed, grabbing his intrusive hand and yanking it away from me. “You’re going to bring the whole damn guild over here and then what? Do you want them to _kill_ me?”

“Are you some kind of double agent?” He demanded, placing his other hand on my shoulder and digging it into the bruised skin there. I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain and instead focusing on something more beneficial – rage.

“Get your fucking hands off of me!”

“Get off of the girl, Gajeel.” An authoritative voice commanded, and we both looked up, noticing the guild master standing  a few feet away from us, a disapproving expression on his face.

Fuck.

Gajeel stood, stepping away from me and brushing himself off. I did the same; painstakingly raising my body from the ground and trying to cover the outdated guild mark with the cloth of my skirt. But it was no use; my clothing had been torn too badly. The master looked me over, sighing as he did so. “I would like you to come with me to my office. We can discuss matters there. Come.”

“Wait, is everyone safe?” I piped up. Makarov turned around and fixed me with a peculiar little look. “I didn’t hurt Natsu or anything did I?”

“They’re all fine, everyone in Magnolia, the entire guild, everyone is going to be fine.” He reassured me, and turned back around to walk in the direction of the guild through the thick smoke. “Now come this way.”

I followed after him, and he led me immediately into a large group of people, all of them being my fellow guild mates. I smiled weakly at them, noticing the wide grins and utterly astonished looks on their faces as they greeted me. I stiffly walked by, making sure to keep my hand glued to its place on my upper left thigh, hiding the black mark that clearly didn’t belong to Fairy Tail.

~~~

“Before I say anything else – I believe that it’s important for me to mention exactly how surprised I was with this sudden display of skill. And I don’t mean in a bad way. Alexandria, I must say – you are _quite_ the young mage.”

I simply shrugged, and an almost amused look appeared on his weathered face.

“Now don’t be modest.”

“There are many wizards far more skilled than I – even here in Fairy Tail.” I stated. “Levy has told great stories of Mystogan and the demon Mirajane, and there are probably many other S-class mages that I have yet to hear of. And of course there’s Erza as well.”

“I still have to admire you. Taking down a dragon on your own, without even using any dragon slayer magic… You deserve some praise.”

“That mechanical beast was no dragon,” I countered, “and I had the help of not only Natsu and Erza, but the entire guild.” I paused. “I don’t believe in praise – I find that constructive criticism works much better.”

“You are a difficult one.” Makarov mused as he folded his hands in concentration.

“Oh but everyone loves a good challenge, don’t they?” I prompted, and the guild master grinned.

“Indeed they do.” He answered, pausing slightly before he continued. “Now, you seem to be a matter-of-fact, get-to-the-point kind of person, someone after my own heart – so I’m certain I have no need to dance around the subject any longer.”  I nodded. “Good, then let’s get right to the point. Originally I’d intended on calling you in here was to congratulate you on taking down that dragon. I was also going to ask you a bit about your magic, seeing as how you clearly lied on your form when you said that you were a water mage. That was until I noticed the guild mark on your leg. Would you mind saying the name of that guild, just so I’m not mistaken into thinking that it’s another?” He looked at me in disapproval, and I hung my head.

“Grimiore Heart.” I breathed. “I was once a mage of Grimiore Heart.”

“Indeed you were” He continued, his eyes flashing. “A dark mage of the most powerful dark guild that I know. I happen to have no tolerance for dark mages, or anyone who is trying to double cross me in my own home. Fairy Tail has no room for black magic or the work of Zeref, and I have no compassion in my heart for those that work in his honor.” Makarov paused, his harsh features softening somewhat. “But I also happen to love the children of my guild, which you happen to be one of. So, to help me clear things up, would you mind explaining to me what exactly is going on? And don’t lie to me, please. I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself here.”

I wanted to point out the fact that I was rather unredeemable, but I bit my tongue.

I took a deep breath, before I spoke. I’d sworn never to tell anyone of my past, but it looked like I had no other choice at the moment.

“You need to know that I am no longer a mage of Grimiore Heart, nor am I a member of the eight, now seven kin of purgatory like I once was. Currently I am a fugitive. I know it seems hard to believe coming from someone from Grimiore Heart itself, but it’s true. Four months ago, at the beginning of July, I ran away from the only home I’d ever know, however Grimiore Heart could hardly be called a home (it was more like a living hell). I scraped by for three months, going from place to place, and hiding from Hades, my master and former adoptive father. I wanted to start over – to make a new, better life for myself. Somewhere along the way I came up with the plan to join a proper guild. Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord both seemed like good options to me.  And after I heard of Phantom Lord’s disbandment, I ended up making my way to Magnolia. And so here I am.”

“But why would you run away? Why the sudden change in morals?”

“It wasn’t a sudden change any more than it was a gradual one. My whole life, form the moment I was taken to live in that vile guild until the moment that I left I was fed lies. I was conditioned and trained – practically brainwashed as Hades forced radical opinions into my mind. I’d never truly been able to grasp what evil was before, or the fact that there was anything wrong with it. But the older I got – the more I matured – the clearer it became to me that Hades was someone I didn’t want to be around. And I wasn’t the only one. There were others, a couple of my guild mates that doubted Hades – that doubted Zeref. We fed off of one another and strengthen our resolve that Hades wasn’t the god he viewed himself as. I was a soldier – nothing more than a pawn. Hades had lied to me. He came into my farming village one day when I was just a little girl, no older than four or five, and ripped me from my parent’s hands, not only taking away their little girl but killing them as well. However, I didn’t know this until very recently.” I paused, taking in a shaky breath. “The moment he took me away from them, Hades cast a powerful incantation over me, sealing off my former memories and forcing me to believe that he was my real father. From that point on I knew nothing but darkness.” I shook my head and scoffed. “Hades took me under his wing and back to Grimiore Heart where he trained me in a lost form of magic. But he was abusive, forcing questionable forms of magic upon not only I, but all of the other children he had taken in – all in the hope of one day achieving his dream of finding all of the keys to awaken the black wizard Zeref. And I read the books, I learned the spells, I was taught the magic. Eventually my former father even had a lacrima implanted in my body to help me better channel and store up the power I was constantly using so that my body wouldn’t burn up from it.”

“What is your magic, child?” The elder man inquired, and I looked down slightly, my eye darting up to meet his as I answered.

“Magicae Astral – the magic of the stars.” I replied, nervously wringing my hands. “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it. This magic, it’s a lost form, and it hasn’t been used in hundreds of years because of its instability.”

“I have in fact heard of this magic, it’s the much volatile parent magic to heavenly body magic, if I’m not mistaken.” He stated dryly, a bitter look moving across his aging face. “But why would he have such a young girl training in this art? Using it, you manipulate and pull you strength directly from the cosmos. If one tries channeling too much energy through their body, it could easily kill them.”

“That’s why I’ve had to train myself to handle the magic.” I countered. “I’ve been using it for years, master; since I was no older than six. While I admit I have had my struggles with it, many times falling ill from using the magic too much as a child, now that I’m older, I’ve been molded into exactly the weapon he wanted me to become.”

“You are no weapon; did you see what you did today? You saved Natsu, and all of Magnolia.”

“And I almost killed that Daphne woman. If luck wasn’t in her favor – I would have. I – I don’t know how I would’ve been able to live with myself if I would’ve actually killed her… I already have a hard enough time living with myself as it is…”

“We all have our demons that we have to carry around, ones from our past, even some from our present.” The guild master began with solemnity. “Every day we have different struggles, and yet, it’s how we deal with that conflict that defines who we are. You may have been forced into Grimiore heart as a child, but you can’t control that. You may have been surrounded by darkness your entire life, but by escaping that and coming to Fairy Tail, you have chosen a path of light. Because of this, I have decided that I will let you stay, and in the event that any authority figure or form of law enforcement comes after you, I will provide as much protection as I can. You are still a child; you’re barely of legal age. It wouldn’t be right for me to send you out onto the streets to fend for yourself. I will watch over you here for the time being.”

“You’re – you’re not expelling me?” I muttered, shock filling my features as I stared down at the ground in shock. He chuckled.

“Of course not. I’m not expelling Gray either, he thought he was doing the right thing, but in the end he made a mistake – we all make mistakes.” The master said, and I looked up at him, my eyes shining. “You’ve done a great deal of good for my family today. It’s only logical that I welcome you in with open arms, just as I took in the rest of my lost sheep.”

“Thank you…”

“Now, come along, its best that we take you back out to the rest of Fairy Tail and explain to them what has happened.”

“No.” I blurted, and the master gave me a stern look, furrowing his brows in confusion. I just shook my head. “No, I can’t. I can’t tell them all what I just told you. Please, I couldn’t bring myself to do that.”

“Fine then, we won’t tell them anything. But you’re going to have to at least explain to Gajeel some of your past, and I expect you not to lie.”

“Fine, I’ll tell him, but not right now.”  I grumbled, standing up from my seat. “The less people that know the better, that way, there’s a chance that Hades could find out that I’m a member of Fairy Tail, and I don’t even want to think about what might occur if that happened.”

And with that I left the room, still making sure to cover my thigh with my hand as I quickly made my way home on the vacant streets of Magnolia.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is covering a period of roughly two weeks, so things are pretty spaced out and might seem kind of choppy. I apologize if this is the case. Its covering things such as the Hanami Festival, the Arrival of Gildarts, and other events leading up to the Tenrou Island story arc. Also, as a side-note, I am not having Xandria go to Edolas because 1. Only a few members from Fairy Tail travelled there 2. Xandria would not have been important to the plot 3. Xandria probably wouldn’t have come into contact with the Edolas version of herself, considering that a. she would’ve probably been a super mega evil dark wizard or b. she would’ve been in the small farming town with her biological parents – which was where she should’ve grown up in the first place.
> 
> Edolas is mentioned at the end of the chapter (however it is an indirect mention) I just wanted to make it clear that the arc did occur, however Xandria has no recollection of it happening because she was not involved.

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken"

~~~

Lucy was sick, and Natsu just didn’t seem to understand what that meant. He was too caught up in his own excitement over the Hanami Festival to realize that Lucy’s had been extinguished. What a clueless sod.

“You aren’t coming Lucy?” Natsu asked, crossing his arms as he stared down at the pitiful blond beside me. I sighed, helping her upwards from her hunched position.

“The cherry blossoms in Magnolia are pretty you know!” Happy added, but Lucy just shook her head.

“I-I really wanna go… I was really looking forward to it…” She trailed off.

“Are you okay Lucy?” The dragon slayer pressed, and I frowned, giving Natsu a condescending look.

“She obviously has a cold.” I pointed out, and an understanding look filled his features.

“Sorry…” Lucy sniveled as she freed herself from my helping grip. “I’m going to sleep…” She stumbled away in the direction of her bed, plopping down on top of the covers with a thud.

“Take care of yourself.” Natsu added, and turned towards the door, but I grabbed his arm before he could leave.

“Can’t leave without me, flame brain.” I stated, and cast a final look in the direction of Lucy’s bed. “Lucy, do you need anything else before I leave? Extra pillows? Another blanket? Tissues, maybe?” I called, earning a loud grunt from the direction of the pink covers.

“No, I’m fine. You two go have fun while I waste away here.” Her muffled voice answered, and I rolled my eyes. She was always one for theatrics.

“Yeah, yeah, poor pitiful you.” I muttered, turning around towards the door where Natsu and his cat were waiting. “Just try to get better while we’re gone.”

A withdrawn sigh came from the bed and I gave Natsu a shrug. He opened the door of our apartment, bouncing down the stairs and out of the front door below. I quickly locked the door behind me and joined Natsu on the cobblestoned street of Magnolia.

“Man that sucks.” Natsu drawled, dragging his feet behind him as we moved towards the park.

“It’s too bad she caught a cold, after she was looking forward to it so much.” Happy added.

“Oh well.”

“I feel bad for Lucy.”

“Maybe we could bring her back something.” I piped up, looking at the two of them with the sudden idea. Natsu grinned.

“You know, you’re a lot smarter than you look, star girl.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

~~~

“Wow Xandria! Look at you!” Levy chirped, and flashed me her signature grin. “You certainly got into the Hanami spirit of things!” She motioned to my pale pink dress, quite similar in color to the very cherry blossoms that were raining down from the trees themselves, and I threw caution to the wind and gave her a wink.

“Lucy was going to wear it, but since she couldn’t go she insisted that I did.” I said. In truth it was an attractive sundress, but it wasn’t something I would’ve worn without special orders. Pink just wasn’t my color. “It was very nice of her, but I don’t think it suits me, do you?”

“I think it looks great.” A male voice from behind me spoke up, and I turned around in surprise. Bickslow, the crazed member of the thunder god tribe stood behind me, smirking. I laughed, and looked him over with a grin.

“I think it’d look even better on you.” I teased, and he burst into a bout of maniacal laughter, sticking his tongue out to reveal his guild mark. It wasn’t _that_ funny. After a moment he composed himself (as much as he could at least) and fixed me with another smirk.

“Say, doll, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” Bickslow inquired. I scoffed.

“No, but I chipped a nail when I crawled out of hell.” I retorted with a smirk, causing Bickslow to let out another bellow of laughter.

“I like you. You’ve got spunk.” He announced, as if coming to a sudden conclusion, and I couldn’t refrain from rolling my eyes. “And a rather lovely body-“

“Oh leave her alone Bickslow.” Another male voice cut in, and I turned, noticing a man with long green hair approaching us.

“I was only joking around Freed.” Bickslow grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance “Why do you always have to ruin my fun?”

“You could learn to be a bit more of a gentleman sometimes.”

“What, like you?” He pressed, an irritated look crossing the portion of his face that wasn’t hidden behind the mask. “I’d rather not.”

“He really wasn’t doing any harm.” I reassured, and both of the men looked back at me, dropping their conversation. “It was rather entertaining to listen to him, actually.”

“Hear that Freed? I’m entertaining.” He boasted, but the other man rolled his eyes.

“She wasn’t complementing you.”

“Xandria, it’s about to start!” Levy called, waving me over from her position on our mat. Casting one final glance at the two arguing men, I dashed towards her, grabbing the bingo card that she had saved for me from her hands.

“And now, we’ll begin the traditional Hanami bingo tournament!” Mirajane announced.

“We’ve got a bunch of high quality prizes again this year! So everyone, give it everything you’ve got!” The master added, and I grinned, looking down at my card in anticipation.

“Everyone ready? Then please punch out the center circle. Let’s bingo!”

“The first number is…”

“24!”

“All right! Right off the bat!” Cana’s eager voice exclaimed, and I grinned along with her.

“Me too!” I blurted, punching in the number that waited a space away from my middle.

“What incredible luck…” Levy sighed, and I glanced at her card, noticing the single hole.

“Levy you can do it!” Her fellow teammates cheered her on, but I ignored them, turning my attention back to my card and Mirajane’s sweet voice.

“8” Sigh.

“65” Punch.

“81” Sigh.

“12” Sigh.

“93” Punch.

“62” Sigh.

“5” Punch.

“68”

“Bingo!” I screamed, jumping upwards from my seat on the ground as I punched in the last spot on my card to get five across. But at the same moment I said it, someone else shouted the same word, jumping up from their seat as well. My head snapped in the direction of the red headed woman, and I narrowed my eyes.

“Xandria…” She growled.

“Erza…” I spat.

We both stared each other down, unsure of what to do.

“Two bingos at the same time!” The master exclaimed, his voice giddy with excitement. “Well… both of you can’t have the prize!”

“I won’t let you take my prize from me.” I threatened, shifting my body into a defensive stance. She glared at me.

“Your prize?! You’ll have to pry _my_ prize from my cold, dead hands.” She stated, reequipping into her heaven’s wheel armor.

“Bring it on princess.” I smirked, raising my hands as I prepared to cast my first spell.

“Gladly!”

 “Wait!” A young female voice cut in, and suddenly Wendy darted between the two of us, an almost fearful look in her eyes.  “You’re both members of the same guild, you can’t fight like this! Not in the middle of a park!”

“Wendy…” Erza trailed off, lowering her sword as she stared at the little girl. I sighed.

“Don’t you at least want to hear what the prize is first?” Wendy prompted, and reluctantly I nodded, looking to Mirajane for an answer.

“The first bingo prize is a handful of herbs from Mt. Haboke that are said to increase magic powers and-“

“The herbs we picked yesterday?!” Erza exclaimed, cutting off the other woman. “And they’re already wilted!”

“That’s our prize?!” I blurted, dropping my stance. “You take it Erza.”

“No, I don’t want it. You take it.”

And like that we both went at it again, the two of us arguing for the rest of the hanami festival in the loving way that all good friends do.

~~~

The strange sound of bells had greeted my ears, along with the ecstatic cries of my guildmates.

“Gildarts has come back!” Many of my guild mates blurted from around me.

“Gildarts? I’ve never met him. Who is he?” Lucy asked in a whirl, and suddenly Mirajane and Erza materialized beside us, wide grins across their faces.

“He’s Fairy Tail’s strongest wizard.” Mirajane stated, and Lucy’s eyes widened.

“Wait, even stronger than Erza!?”

“Erza isn’t even close to being the strongest mage in Fairy Tail.” I retorted, and the red head glared at me.

“Oh and you are?”

“I never said I was – there are _plenty_ of wizards stronger than I at this guild.” I answered. “You, Mirajane, this Gildarts fellow.”

“Erza isn’t even in his league, Lucy.” Mirajane continued, reining the conversation in. Lucy paused, observing everyone before she spoke up.

“Not like I care but what’s all this celebration about?” Lucy inquired.

“It’s like a festival Carla!” Wendy added, but her cat just shook it off.

“Wasn’t the Hanami only a week ago?” Carla, its negative attitude so much unlike Happy’s.

“It’s only natural for everyone to celebrate.” Mirajane said with a smile. “It’s been about three years since he came back.”

“ _Three years_? What was he doing?”

“There are quests more difficult than S class, called SS class. But there are jobs even above those, called ten-year quests.” She explained.

“No one has completed them for more than ten years.” Erza added, looking at Lucy and I with smug superiority. “That’s why they’re called ten-year quests. Gildarts went on one even more difficult, a hundred-year quest.”

“Hundred year quest? No one has managed to complete it for one hundred years?!” Lucy exclaimed, and Erza nodded.

“Right.”

“Magnolia will now return to Gildarts’ shift. Citizens please return to your designated areas.” A sudden mechanical outburst from outside of the guild suddenly filled out ears.

“What the hell is Gildarts’ shift?” I questioned, and the red headed girl motioned to the door.

“You’ll know if you look outside.”

Lucy, Wendy and I all sprinted in the direction of the doors, each of us gasping in shock when we saw that the buildings around us and the streets below were being rearranged somehow.

“The city’s moving?!” Lucy blurted, turning to Erza for an explanation.

“Gildarts uses crash magic.” She explained, an amused look on her face. “He’ll turn anything he touches into bits. If his mind wanders, he’ll just walk straight through people’s houses.”

“How much of an idiot is he?”

“So they reconstructed the entire city, just for one man?” I inquired, and she nodded.

“Yeah.”

Suddenly silence overtook the guild, and a tall man approached the door. I blinked in shock, backing away from the entrance and into the crowd behind me as he entered the building, a confused look on his scarred face. For a moment everyone remained silent.

“Gildarts!” Natsu shouted, bursting forward from the throng of the crowd. “Fight me!”

“Right off the bat with that?”

“Welcome back!” Mirajane announced, stepping forward to greet him. Gildarts peered down at her, however, his confused look not going away.

“Miss, I was pretty sure there was a guild named Fairy Tail around here…” He trailed off, and she smiled at him.

“This is it.” She stated. “Oh, and I’m Mirajane.” His eyes widened.

“Mira? Oh! You’ve really changed!” He blurted, looking around the guild hall in shock. “And wow, the guild is brand new!”

“Gildarts!” Natu’s voice rang out again, and the older man turned, facing the pink haired boy. He grinned when he saw him.

“Natsu? Wow it’s been a while!”

“I told you to fight me!” The dragon slayer roared, jumping from his spot in the crowd and pouncing on top of Gildarts. The ace scoffed, catching him with one hand and flinging him upwards, into the ceiling. My eyes widened as I noticed Natsu’s body stick in the roof, his outline being formed into the ceiling by the force of the other man’s throw.

“Maybe another time.”

“You ain’t changed a bit, Pops.” Gray exclaimed, a wide grin across his face.

“A man among men!” Elfman added.

“There are faces I have never seen before.” Gildarts stated, turning his gaze so that he was staring at Lucy and I. “Things sure have changed.”

“Gildarts!” A loud voice boomed, belonging to none other than our guild master. Gildarts’ face lit up as he turned, noticing the small man.

“Oh, master! Long time no see!”

“How did the job go?”

“No good. It’s impossible for me.”

“I see. Even you couldn’t handle it?”

“Sorry. This’ll be bad for our reputation.

“No, I’m just happy you came back safe and sound. You’re the first one I know that’s ever come back from this quest alive.” Our master announced, and Gildarts nodded, turning away from him.

“I wanna go get some rest, so I’m heading home.” The talented mage drawled, moving towards the wall. “Man, I’m beat… Natsu! Come to my place later. I’ve brought souvenirs! Now pardon me.”

I stared in shock as he exited, ignoring all of the doors and windows and simply blasting a whole in the brick wall with nothing more than the flick of his wrist.

~~~

 “How long are you gonna sleep Natsu?” Elfman demanded, his gruff voice taking on an angry tone as he addressed the KO’d boy.

“Let’s scribble on his face!” Gray exclaimed, pulling out a marker. I grinned as he took the cap off and began to draw on the sleeping dragon’s face.

“Gray, please stop these kinds of childish pranks.” Lucy said with a sigh, and he looked up at her.

“Who’re you callin a child, eh?” He grunted, quickly drawing more elaborate designs on Natsu’s face. I grinned even wider, and Lucy’s face flushed.

“Now you’re even worse than a kid!” She blurted.

“Hey, ice mage, hand me the marker.” I ordered, and he placed it in my waiting hand, a smirk on his face.

“Try and top that.”

“Oh I will.” I said, accepting the challenge with a crack of my knuckles.

“You too Xandria?!” Lucy squeaked in irritation, her voice rising to a much higher octave. Suddenly though, before I could even bring the marker to touch Natsu’s skin, he jerked upwards and into reality.

“Is there a fight?! Let me in on it!”

“Lucy! You woke him up!” I grumbled, and out of annoyance I pegged the marker at her, hitting her on the back with a loud thwack.

“Ow!” She complained, giving me a dark look before she pulled a mirror out of the purse she carried at her side. “Natsu, Here.” She handed the mirror to the Salamander, and he peered into, pulling away in disgust as he realized that his face was covered in markings.

“What!? Who drew this on me?!” He demanded, his face heating up. I snorted, trying to suppress my laughter at how ridiculous he looked.

“You know there’s only one other person who’d stoop to your level right.” Lucy stated, and then cast a glance at me. “Oh wait, I meant two.” Luckily though, Natsu had already pounced on the other boy.

“Gray!”

“You wanna go bud? I punished you for your loud ass snoring, is what!”

“You bastard!”

~~~

“Why are Mira and Elfman going to the church on a day like this?” Lucy inquired, and I glanced upwards, lazily looking her over from over the top of my book.

“Oh, that’s right.”

“It’s almost the anniversary of Lisanna’s death.”

“Lisanna?”

“Mira and Elfman’s little sister. It was two years ago… an accident on a job. When it gets close to the anniversary, those two start going to the church.”

“I see…”

“Now that you mention it, you do remind me a bit of Lisanna.”

“I do?”

“Weren’t Lisanna and Natsu really close? I’ve heard stories of the two being together before.”

“Yeah, they were, kind of like Lucy and Natsu.”

“Ah, there’s nothing to do…”

“With it raining like this, its hard to get motivated to go on a job.”

“I wish something interesting would happen…”

~~~

A strange feeling overtook her as she stood up from the table after the events of the day, but other than that the girl, along with many of her guildmates, would know nothing of the true events that had taken place. The only change that Xandria noticed was the new girl, Lisanna, that had rolled in, along with the slightly different moods associated with her friends. But she shook the aura of mystery off and left the matter as it was. She had more important things to do than worry herself over matters that didn’t really concern her.


	9. Chapter 9

"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."

~~~

“Will you ever take a break?”

I paused halfway through reading the next request I was preparing to take, and looked up at the sound of the familiar voice. Lucy had fixed me with a frustrated glare, and I could only shrug in return.

“There’s no time for breaks.” I stated and nonchalantly folded paper the request was on, shoving it into the pocket of the trench coat I was wearing. Lucy rolled her eyes.

“You’ve been spending every spare second on jobs ever since Lisanna returned. I swear, you haven’t even said a word to her this entire time.” She huffed, and I crossed my arms.

“I’m busy, and it’s not like the requests aren’t going to do themselves.” I pointed out, earning a frown from the blond.

“Just take a break for a second Xandria. Relax. I’m sure you have enough cash to pay rent for the next ten years.”

“It’s not about the money, Lucy. I’m trying to get some work done. Get a bit of practice in. Do a few personal errands for Makarov.” I explained in indifference. Lucy sighed.

“Whatever. I know that you’re obviously busy doing whatever duties that must be required of someone of your magical stature. Sorry I ever interfered. I was only trying to help.” She pouted, turning on her heel and stomping away from me. I rolled my eyes at her theatrics and returned my attention to where it had been before I was so rudely interrupted. There was, after all, nothing I could do about whatever was going on between Lucy and I. Hopefully it would work itself out. Right now my focus was on pleasing Makarov and racking up as many jobs and as I could before December 15th.

I strode across the dining hall to the bar where the ever beautiful Mirajane stood cleaning some glasses. Flashing her one of my recently acquired smiles, I pulled out the two slips of paper from my coat pocket, waving them in front of her.

“Translating a few Latin manuscripts in Kunigi, and dealing with a dark guild in Onibus. Nothing big, but it all pays well, and Makarov needed me to meet with his friends in Kunigi.” I announced with a flourish. Mirajane shook her head with a laugh.

“Well aren’t you quite the busy mage.”

“You wouldn’t expect anything less, would you?”

“I suppose not. “ She muttered. “The early bird gets the worm after all.”

“Screw being an early bird. I’d rather sleep in late and get to eat pancakes.” I teased. She frowned, obviously not completely pleased by my spin on things.

“I’ve never really thought of it that way, Xandria, but-“

“Anyways, I’ll need to be going soon.” I interjected, and she glanced back up at me, her eyes clearing as I interrupted her train of thought. “I’m taking Bickslow along with me, by the way. Levy was, regrettably, busy with her own matters, and the rest of my friends were off doing their own things, so I settled upon a madman. So please send your prayers to me while I’m away.”

“You’re friends with Bickslow?” She blurted in surprise, and I only shrugged.

“Not really – we’re more like business partners. His friends were busy, my friends were busy, and we both were looking for a job. He’s a pretty funny guy, so I figured what would it hurt me to take him along?”

She nodded, and I turned, scanning the area around the bar for the masked man. He suddenly appeared in the corner of my vision, a wide grin on his face from his seat a few feet away.

“Ready to go?”

I nodded, and like that I had just sealed my contract with someone like Bickslow and the rest of his group for years to come.

~~~

I ran my fingers over the rich mahogany desk that graced the master’s regal office. Intricate patterns had been carved into the shiny surface, and I traced my fingers over them, swirling in and out of each twist and furl. It was peaceful – calming – so different from the storm I had been swept up in my entire life. I memorized the surface, the pads of my fingertips learning the impression that the original craftsman had made upon the dark wood so long ago when this elegant piece of furniture had been made.

“It is a rather beautiful piece of woodwork, isn’t it?”

A deep voice pulled me from my reverie, but I continued staring at the dark desk, moving my hands across the surface. The only response I had for my master was a slight nod.

“But that isn’t what we’re here to talk about today, is it?” He mused, moving away from the back of the room and towards the seat across from me. I glanced upwards, looking through my lashes at Makarov. “No, I called you here to discuss more pressing matters. Not to simply titter over my lengthy collection of spell books and impressive array of woodwork. Maybe some other time.”

I smiled slightly and removed my hands from his desk, folding them and placing them softly in my lap. He nodded at me.

“First of all, I’d like to begin by saying how proud I am of you.” The elderly man said, a solemn expression on his wrinkled face as he peered at me with a pair of surprisingly youthful blue eyes. “You have spent the past month doing everything imaginable that you could to prove your trustworthiness to me. And, although I will admit in some ways it will always be hard for us to look beyond our past, I believe that I will be able to pay no heed the sins you have committed. You have been, and will always be, fully accepted as a member of the Fairy Tail family. It has been an honor watching you grow. You gave us all a beautiful display of your magic when you took down the Dragonoid, but I enjoy watching as you become more comfortable with your gifts and unlock more of your potential each and every day. You have shown me a new side to magic that I had never imagined to exist. So thank you. Thank you for making an old man feel young in some ways again.”

He paused, inhaling sharply before continuing.

“You probably know already of the more pressing event that is about to occur. I’ve seen your recent performance; your activity level in the past month has skyrocketed above many of your piers. I can only assume that this would be the reason why. And if it isn’t, then don’t let me be the one to inform you of these upcoming events. You’ll find out soon enough.” He went on. “But I need to know one thing before the next week rolls around. A few things actually. That’s why I’ve called you here today.”

I couldn’t contain the excitement that welled up within me – an ecstatic grin broke out across my face. I knew what this meant. I knew that because of my hard work, and my skill, Makarov had at least started considering me for the S class trials. After Levy had given me the heads up a month ago, I had withdrawn myself from my friends, who had, in turn – strange as it was – already withdrawn themselves from me. I focused all my efforts on pleasing the master of the guild and shaping up the few areas of my magic that I still lacked in. (My defense could still use a tune up if you asked me.)

“I’d like to know if I can trust you.” He stated, and I nodded.

“Well of course-“ I began.

“No, it’s not just like that.” He cut me off, causing my open mouth to stupidly snap shut, the air inside of it filling my head. “I need to ask you a few questions, and I need you to answer them one-hundred percent truthfully.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“There’s a catch. You can only answer each question with one word. It can be anything, any word, but it has to completely describe your answer to that question.”

“Alright. Go ahead.” I announced, and he nodded.

“Question number 1, What is your name?”

“Alexandria.”

“Where are you from?”

“Fiore.”

“Who do you love the most?”

I paused.

“Fairies.”

He nodded, a slight smile on his face.

“Who do you hate the most?”

“Hades.”

“Have you ever done something unforgivable?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever killed someone?”

I hesitated again, causing his former smile to be replaced by a frown.

“Soon.”

“Soon?”

“Hades.” I stated, the look on my face hardening, and the old man nodded in understanding.

“You have a bonus – an extra word- it can be anything you want, so be careful to use it wisely.”

I bit my lip, searching for the right word to use. It had to be something that the master would understand, and it had to be something that he’d find significant enough to trust me. It’d obviously have to be relatively personal – something that’d hit home, but something that didn’t offend him. But what could I possibly say that was only one word?

Suddenly it hit me.

“Laxus,” I stated.

A look of shock filled the master’s face as he took in the name I had just uttered.

“What did you just say?”

“Laxus.”

“Why would you-”

“Because.” I cut him off, earning yet another confused frown from Makarov.

“You’re free to go.” He stated with an exhausted wave of his hand, and I nodded.

“Thanks.”

And with that I stood from my chair, leaving both the quaint little room and Makarov behind.

~~~

“So you’ve finally decided to return home for once?” Lucy inquired as I crept in the front door. I hissed in annoyance, trying to hide the swear that escaped from my mouth when I realized that she was still awake.

“It’s two in the morning Lucy! Why the hell are you still awake?” I exclaimed, fumbling around on the wall as I looked for the light switch. My desperate hand finally found it, and I flicked it on, noticing not only Lucy, but a bleary eyed Cana lying on top of my bed. My eyes rose in surprise – had I interrupted something?

Wait, didn’t Lucy like Natsu anyway?

“Luce, what’s goin’ on?” The drunkard mumbled, sitting upwards from her spot on my mattress. I continued scowling, but turned my attention to the blond across the room.

“Yeah ‘Luce’ what’s going?” I mimicked, earning a rather exaggerated eye role from Lucy.

“Cana came over to have a sleepover with me.” She spat. “ It gets lonely after a while you know.”

“Oh, well…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say next. “It’s still my bed!”

Lucy shook her head in a retired kind of annoyance, and rose from her mattress.

“You know what, why don’t you just take mine then. I’ll sleep on the couch downstairs. As long as you’re actually going to stay, otherwise I’d rather keep my warm and cozy bed and just let you run off and do whatever errands it is that you’ve been so busy doing.”

“Lucy I’m sorry, I didn’t know I was causing you so much turmoil by not being at home much the past month, but honestly, sometimes you’ve just got to get a better handle on things. You’ve never relied on me, so why does it suddenly matter now?” I said, leaning up against the wall on the side of the room.

“It’s just lonely. Natsu and Gray and everyone, they just haven’t been paying me any attention recently. And now you too. It’s not easy Xandria.”

“I’m sorry Lucy, really, I am.  I didn’t mean to push you to the side. I’ve just become so engrossed with work. I haven’t really had time for any relationships. But I promise, I’ll fix this, once this next week or two are over with, I’ll be able to focus on all my friends again.”

“Good, it’s about time you got your priorities straight.” She stated.

~~~

“Fairy Tail! As we have long done since days past, I will now announce the participants in this year’s S class Wizard Advancement Exam.” Makarov announced to the sea of my gathered Fairy Tail brethren. “This year’s exam will take place on Tenrou Island! It is holy ground for our guild. Each of your powers, hearts, and souls… I have judged them all this past year, and I have taken some of our newer ones into account as well. There will be eight participants.” He paused and began to read off the list of names. “Natsu Dragneel! Gray Fullbuster! Juvia Lockser! Elfman Strauss! Cana Alberona! Freed Justine!”

Loud cheers followed the six names that he had read off in rapid succession, but he paused before he read off the seventh, swallowing slightly before glancing at the throng of people in front of him.

“Alexandria Douglais!” He bellowed, and a look of utter surprise overtook not only my face, but also the faces of many in the audience. Makarov, however, did not have as much time as I did to be shocked, so he went on, reading the last of his names. “Mest Gryder! This time only _one_ of you will pass! The exam will take place in one week. So each of you prepare yourselves. As this is the first time for some of you, let me explain the rules.”

“Each of the selected participants please select a partner within this upcoming week of preparation.” Mirajane said.

“The contents of the exam itself will be announced once you arrive at Tenroujima. But this time Erza will be blocking your progress.” Makarov went on, but it was hard to pay attention. After all, I had actually been chosen. This was a lot for someone to take in.  “The eight selected participants and their chosen partners will assemble at Hargeon Port in one week. That is all!” The master declared, and with that he strode off stage, along with the rest of the S class mages.

And in that moment I was swallowed whole by the congratulations of my guild mates.

~~~

“Sorry Levy.” I muttered, shaking my head at the blue haired girl, but she only gave me a resigned sigh.

“Don’t be. I was hoping to get picked this year, but honestly with you coming like you did, I should have expected it to turn out this way.” She stated, taking another withdrawn swig from her mug. That’s how I knew that something was up. Levy rarely drank. She’d get a mug sure, but she’d never actually _drink_ from it, not unless she was seriously in need of a pick me up. And if someone as cheerful as Levy was in need of a pick me up, then something was wrong with your world.

“Still, at least let me chose you as my partner or something.” I pressed, but she shook her head.

“I told you no already. At least not until you ask Gajeel. If I can’t be in this thing, then I at least want you to win it for me. And you can’t do that if someone as weak as me is dragging you down the entire time.” She continued. I rolled my eyes at the girl.

“Levy, honestly, why do you have to be so difficult?”

“Look just go over there right now and ask the Iron Man if he wants to partner up with you. I’m sure he’d be willing. Fighting is his thing, after all.”

“He doesn’t trust me.” I countered, earning a scoff from the girl sitting across from me.

“Well we don’t trust him either, so I think we all stand on pretty equal ground.”

“Fine.” I grumbled, pushing myself upwards from my seat at the bench. Taking a few swaggering steps in the general direction of Gajeel, I casually approached him, a passive look on my face. He turned his head, looking up from where he currently sat at the bar devouring a rather large hunk of iron. Giving me a once over, he slowly swallowed, an irritated glare crossing his face as he stared at me, as if I had interrupted him from some inconceivably important activity.

“What?” He demanded, his many piercings glinting in a surprisingly pleasant way against his tan skin as he spoke. I folded my arms.

“I was wondering if you’d be willing to be my partner during the S class trials. I know we may not be close friends, but I believe we’d make a rather formidable team. We’d be a force to be reckoned with.” I explained, earning a rather quick nod from the dragon slayer.

“Yeah, I was actually thinking of asking you the same thing myself. I just wanted to be involved in all the action, and what better person to fight alongside with than one of the top four – no – top three for sure.” He answered, and I grinned.

“Thanks Gajeel. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Yeah.” He grunted, and quickly turned back to his meal of metal. I sighed, and returned to where Levy sat. 

However, my mind remained focused on the S Class Trials.

I was ready whatever hell was going to be thrown at me during the S Class trials. No one was going to get in my way. From here on out, there was no holding back.

I was going to win, and nobody was going to stop me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! We've finally reached the Tenrou Island Arc! Next chapter we'll be picking up at the very start of the trials, right before the games really begin.
> 
> At some point later on I will be going back and adding a large portion to this chapter. It will be the story of Alexandria's two jobs with Bickslow. I'm really looking forward to writing it because they're both absolutely mental and the inevitable chaos that they'd both cause together absolutely delights me.

**Author's Note:**

> Well there it is, Chapter 1! Review and tell me what you thought, I can't wait to really dive into this story!
> 
> While I will mainly be writing this story in first person from my main character's POV, I will occasionally switch POVs to include first person perspectives from other characters, and even the occasional third person POV. So, while this piece will start off in third person, I don't want you guys to be alarmed or anything when it switches perspectives haha. Also it shouldn't be terribly Mary-Sued, I really tried my hardest not to make her seem like some outrageous heroin. Because this girl is clearly not perfect.
> 
> Some chapters might have a quote or something that pertains to the content of the chapter btw, soooo yeah lol
> 
> As always I do not own any of Fairy Tail, nor am I affilated with it in any sort of way. All credits go to the AMAZING creators of the anime and manga. I only own Xandria.


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